বঙ্গবন্ধু ও মুক্তিযুদ্ধ

মাননীয় প্রধানমন্ত্রী

2017-06-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

মাননীয় প্রধানমন্ত্রী, আমি বিশেষ্য বিশেষন দিয়ে তোষামোদি করতে জানিনা। তাই সরাসরি আমার কিছু না বলা কথা এবং কিছু হতভাগা মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের করুন ইতিহাস আপনার সদয় অবগতির জন্য মিডিয়ার সাহায্য নিতে বাধ্য হলাম।আপা, আমি একজন মুক্তিযোদ্ধা। মুজিবনগরে প্রশিক্ষণ নেয়া যোদ্ধা।
স্বাধীনতাত্তোর বাংলাদেশে ১৯৭২ সালের ২রা মার্চ জাতিরজনক বংগবন্ধু/বাংলাদেশের প্রথম প্রধানমন্ত্রী শহীদ তাজুদ্দিন আহমেদ একজন মুক্তিযোদ্ধা হিসেবেই ১০ মিনিটের নির্দেশে ভূমি মন্ত্রণালয়ে চাকুরী প্রদান করেছিলেন। ৭ দিন কি ৮ দিন পায়ে হেটে না খেয়ে মুজিবনগরে গিয়ে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের প্রশিক্ষণ নিয়েছিলাম একটি স্বাধীন সার্বভৌম জাতিরাষ্ট্র প্রতিষ্ঠার নেশায়।

এ নেশা সাড়ে সাত কোটি মানুষের রক্তে মাংসে অস্তিত্বে মগজে সেলের মত বিধেছিল ১৯৭১ সালের ৭ই মার্চ "পশ্চিমা হানাদার বাহিনীর হাত থেকে বাংলাকে মুক্ত করতে হবে" জাতিরজনকের এই উদাত্ত আহবানে সারা দেয়া কী ভুল সিদ্ধান্ত ছিল? তাই আমি মুক্তিযোদ্ধা। নামবিহীন অস্তিত্ববিহীন মুক্তিযোদ্ধা! নাম বদলে দিলাম। মোঃ মোকতেল হোসেন থেকে নাম বদলে হয়ে গেলাম মোকতেল হোসেন মুক্তি।
পরবর্তীতে জাতিরজনক বঙ্গবন্ধু ১৩ই এপ্রিল ১৯৭২ সালে মন্ত্রী পরিষদ গঠন করে প্রধানমন্ত্রী হলে মাদারীপুরের কৃতি সন্তান মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধের অন্যতম সংগঠক খাদ্যমন্ত্রী প্রয়াত ফনি ভূষন মজুমদারের অনুস্বাক্ষরে বঙ্গবন্ধু প্রধানমন্ত্রী ত্রাণ তহবীল থেকে এক হাজার টাকার অনুমোদন (মাদারীপুর মহকুমা প্রশাসক অফিসে) এবং ৩ বান ঢেউ টিন প্রদান করেন।
ভূমি মন্ত্রণালয়ের কর্মচারীদের রেকর্ডে একজন মুক্তিযোদ্ধার কোটায় আমার চাকুরী হয়েছিল। স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশের সচিবালয়ে আমিই ভূমি মন্ত্রণালয়ের প্রথম নিয়োগপ্রাপ্ত কর্মচারী ছিলাম। আমার ডিউটি ছিল জননেত্রী শেখ হাসিনার ফুফা, বঙ্গবন্ধুর ভগ্নিপতি, সাবেক চীপ হুইপ আলহাজ্ব হাসনাত আব্দুল্লাহ সেরনিয়াবাত এর গর্বিত পিতা, যুবলীগের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা শেখ ফজলুল হক মনি ভাইয়ের শ্বশুর, সাংসদ ব্যারিষ্ঠার তাপসের নানা সাবেক কৃষক লীগের সভাপতি ভুমি মন্ত্রী ও পরবর্তীতে পানি সম্পদ মন্ত্রী শহীদ আব্দুর রব সেরনিয়াবাতের বাসায়।

ইতিহাসের ঘৃণ্য কালো অধ্যায় ১৫ঈ আগস্টের মধ্যযূগীয় বর্বর হত্যাকান্ডের লাশ দেখে আমি পাগল হয়ে যাই। পিজি হাসপাতালে আমার ৩ মাস চিকিতসা চলে এবং সে তিন মাসের বেতন ভূমি মন্ত্রণালয় কর্তন করে। এ কথা সকলেই জানেন।আমি ভারতের প্রশিক্ষনপ্রাপ্ত মুক্তিযোদ্ধা। আমার ঘরের সব কাগজপত্র আমার ভাইদের শিক্ষার সনদ, জমির দলিল দস্তাফেজ সমূহ সব মানসিক ভারসাম্য হারিয়ে ছিড়ে ফেলি। আমার পরিবারের সব আমি ধংস করে ফেলেছিলাম। ভুমি মন্ত্রনালয় তার প্রমান।
আমি মন্ত্রীকে এসব কথা বলাতে আমাকে অপমান করতে পারেন না। আমি প্রবাসে থাকি। আমাকে আবেদনের সুযোগ না দিয়ে অপমান করার অধিকার মন্ত্রীর নাই। তিনি আমার দরখাস্ত গ্রহন করা ও না করার অধিকার রাখেন কিন্তু মেজর জেনারেল সুবিদ আলীর নির্দেশে আমাকে অপমান করতে পারেন না। তিনি আমার আবেদনে লিখেছেন
“যেহেতু আবেদনকারী বহুবার দেশে এসেছিলেন এবং আবেদন করেন নি তাই তার আবেদন গ্রহন করা গেল না”
তিনি মেজর জেনারেল সুবিদ আলীর শিখানো কথা মত বললেনঃ ৪৫ বছর পরে মুক্তিযোদ্ধা হতে এসেছে। বের করে দেন”।
আমি মুক্তিযোদ্ধাই নই, একজন সক্রিয় আওয়ামি যোদ্ধা। মুক্তিযুদ্ধ ছাড়া আমার জীবনে অন্য কোন বিষয় কাজ করেনি এবং এ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বংগবন্ধ ও আওয়ামী লীগই আমার ধ্যান ধারনা চিন্তা চেতনা আদর্শ এ কথা প্রমান করে আমার ৬০ হাজার প্রায় লীফলেটস, ব্যানার ও পোষ্টার এশিয়ায় ইন্টারনেট চালু হবার পর থেকেই কার বিনা প্ররোচনায় করে এসেছি। শুধু তাই নয় আমি ২০০ ওয়েব সাইট ও ব্লগ মেইনটেইন করি যা’শুধু যুদ্ধাপরাধী মুক্তিযুদ্ধ ও বঙ্গবন্ধু ও আওয়ামী লীগ সংক্রান্ত। এ সকল ছবি ও ব্লগ/ওয়েবসাইটগুলোই প্রমান করে যে আমি মুক্তিযুদ্ধ নিয়ে রীতিমত একজন বদ্ধ উন্মাদসম গবেষক।
Just write my name on the google search engine where you’ll get real Identity of mine “write Moktel Hossain Mukthi or muktimusician.
এ ছাড়াও আমি একজন একনিষ্ঠ অনলাইন আওয়ামী যোদ্ধা। মালদ্বীপের বঙ্গবন্ধু পরিষদ এবং আওয়ামী লীগের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা ও সভাপতি, মালদ্বীপের মাটিতে আমিই সর্ব প্রথম মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বঙ্গবন্ধু এবং পাকিস্তানের ৩০ লক্ষ বাঙ্গালী হত্যাযজ্ঞের বিরুদ্ধে প্রকাশ্য জনসভায় বক্তৃতা প্রদান করে পাকিস্তান হাই কমিশনের মামলা খাওয়া একজন মালদ্বীপ সরকারের শিক্ষক।
মন্ত্রী মহোদয় এ সব পরিচয় জানার পরেও বলেন নি যে আপনি বসেন বা কিছু বরং তাঁর আচার ব্যবহার এতই রুঢ় ছিল যা’ শিবির বা জামাতের কারো সাথে করছেন বলে অনুমেয়। আমার সাথে ভদ্র ভাষায় কথাও বলেন নি। এক পর্যায়ে জেনারেল সুবিদ আলীর কথায় তিনি আমাকে ঘাড় ধরে তাঁর কক্ষ থেকে বেড় করে দেয়ার কথা বলেন এবং অতঃপর.........।।
তিনি মন্ত্রী না হলে হয়তো সেখানেই কোন দুর্ঘটনা ঘটে যেতো। আমি আমার নিজেকে নিয়ন্ত্রন করে চলে আসি। আমার সহযোদ্ধারা এখনো অনেকেই বেচে আছেন। ড: গোলাপ আমার সাথের একই ক্যাম্পের যোদ্ধা। আওয়ামি যোদ্ধা।
মুক্তিযোদ্ধা বিষয়ক মন্ত্রী সব সময় প্রচন্ড মিথ্যা কথা বলেন। যা' মিডিয়া ও বক্তৃতায় বলেন, বাস্তবের সাথে তার কোন মিল নেই; তিনি যা বলেন সব মিথ্যা কথা মিথ্যা তথ্য। এখনো বহু আসল মুক্তিযোদ্ধার নাম তালিকাভুক্ত করতে পারেনি অথচ তিনি বক্তৃতায় ঘোষনা করলেন সকল জীবিত মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের কথা রেকর্ড করা হবে। আসল অনেক মুক্তিযোদ্ধার নামই সংগ্রহ করতে পারেন নি-তিনি কিভাবে এ ঘোষনা প্রদান করেন?
তার দেয়া সব তথ্য জাতিকে বিভক্ত করছে; মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধের চেতনা কলঙ্কিত হচ্ছে। নতুন তালিকা প্রণয়নের নামে এগুলো প্রতারণা। মুক্তিযোদ্ধা বিষয়ক মন্ত্রী মিথ্যাচার করছেন। মিডিয়া, দেশবাসী এমন কি মাননীয় প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে প্রতারণা করছেন । দেশের প্রত্যন্ত অঞ্চলে উপজেলা ও জেলাসমূহে যে দুর্নীতি চলছে, যে সনদ ও মুক্তিযোদ্ধা যাচাই বাছাইয়ের নামে ব্যবসা বাণিজ্য শুরু হয়েছে তাতে আওয়ামী লীগের বিগত বছরগুলোর সকল সফলতা এমন কি মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধে আওয়ামী লীগের যে অবদান সব মলিন হয়ে যাবে এই মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বিষয়ক মন্ত্রীদের মত স্বজনপ্রীতি দুর্নীতি গ্রস্থ নেতা/কমান্ডারদের কারনে।
কারন আপনি আদর্শিক কারনে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের ইতিহাস সংরক্ষন ও মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের মূল্যায়ন করছেন। সমস্ত মন্ত্রী এম পি দের তৃনমূলের সাথে কোন সম্পর্ক নেই। ক্ষমতা ও অর্থ সম্পদ শালী মধ্য শ্রেণীর নেতা যার মধ্যে অর্ধেকই প্রায় জামাত শিবির ও বি এন পি, তাদের সাথে তাল মিলিয়ে, হাত মিলিয়ে আমার মত পাগল ছাগল নিবেদিত ত্যাগি সৎ নিষ্ঠাবান অভিজ্ঞ উচিত কথাবলার প্রকৃত মুক্তিসেনাদের এভাবেই তারা অপমান তাচ্ছিল্য করে দূরে সরিয়ে রাখে। যে কারনে ছাত্রলীগের ছেলেদের সেনাবাহিনী নৌ বাহিনী বিমান বাহিনী পুলিশ বিজিবি ও অন্যান্য সরকারী ভালো পদে চাকুরী হয় না।
কারন ওরা ত টাকা দিতে পারবে না। দলীয় ছাত্র লীগের ছেলেদের নিকট টাকা চাইতেও পারে না; যদি আবার নেত্রীকে বলে দেয় বা জানিয়ে দেয়। তাই গোপনে আওয়ামী লীগের নেত্রীর বিশ্বাসী নেতাগন গোপনে চাকুরী প্রদান করে, স্কুল কলেজ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে ছাত্র ছাত্রীদের ভর্তির সুপারিশ ও তদবীর করে জামাত বি এন পির ছেলে মেয়েদের । কারন টাকা পাওয়া যাবে।
উত্তরা ও এয়ারপোর্ট থানা এলাকায় আমার বাস। আমার জানা মতে ঠিক আমারই মত ত্যাগি জীবনবাজী রেখে নৌকার জন্য ভোট সংগ্রহ কারীর একটি মেয়েকে বঙ্গ মাতা স্কুলে ভর্তির জন্য কি না করেছে? মায়া ভাই পর্যন্ত বিষয়টি জানতেন। সে মেয়েটি সুযোগ পায়নি; দেখা গেছে-ঢাকা এয়ারপোর্ট ও বিমানে চাকুরীরত জামাত বি এন পির ছেলে মেয়েরা অজানা রহস্যের কারনে সবাই সুযোগ পেয়ে গিয়েছে।
এর নাম স্বাধীনতা ? মুক্তিযুদ্ধ ? আওয়ামী লীগ ? এত সে বঙ্গবন্ধুর নৌকা ডুবানোর দুরদন্ত শয়তানী মাঝি খন্দকার মোস্তাক আহমেদ, শাহ মোয়াজ্জেম হোসেন, চাষী মাহবুবুল আলম, নূরুল ইসলাম, কে এম ওবায়দুর রহমান তাহের উদ্দিন ঠাকুরদের চেয়ে একটূ কম নয়। আমিই হলাম বাঙ্গালী জাতির মধ্যে সবচেয়ে কুলাঙ্গার। ধিক্রিত অবহেলিত লাঞ্ছিত মূর্খ বেয়াকুপ বেয়াক্কেল আহাম্মদ বোকা গাধা । না পারলাম প্রাণ খুলে হাসতে না পারলাম দুটি কন্যা সন্তানকে প্রাণ খুলে হাসতে। কি লাভ হল? এ স্বাধীনতায়? যে স্বাধীনতা আমার অস্তিত্বকে স্বীকৃতি দেয় না; সে স্বাধীনতাকে আমি কেন স্বীকৃতি দেব? রাষ্ট্রই যদি আমাকে নাগরিক হিসেবে স্বীকৃতি না দেয়, আমি কেন রাষ্ট্র হিসেবে স্বীকৃতি দেবো? কেউ দেবে না। এটাই নিয়ম, এটাই লজিক। জানি আমি এতে হবো রাষ্ট্রদ্রোহী। তাও মন্দ কী? একটা কিছু ত হবো? আওয়ামী লীগের একজন মন্ত্রী একজন মুক্তিযোদ্ধাকে ঘাড় ধরে বেড় করে দেয়?? এ স্বাধীনতার অর্থ কী? কেন পেলাম? কি আশায় স্বাধীন হলাম? কিসের নেশায় নৌকা নৌকা মুজিব মুজিব করে জীবনের শেষ অবস্থানটুকুকে ধূলিসাৎ করে দিয়ে নির্বাসিত হলাম এই দ্বীপ রাজ্য মালদ্বীপে । ভুল কোথায়? ভুল তো আছেই হয়তো জানিনা জীবনের কোথায় কোন সিদ্ধান্তে বড় রকমের ভুল ছিল। তাই ভুলের মাশুল দিয়ে গেলাম ৬৫ বছর বয়সের মুক্তিযোদ্ধা মোকতেল হোসেন মুক্তি।

ভুল তথ্য দিচ্ছেন। এর সমাধান চাই। এর একটি পরিস্কার ব্যাখ্যা চাই; সত্যের জয় হবে; তাই চাই; জাতিরজনকের নাম ভাঙ্গিয়ে কেউ ক্ষমতায় থেকে বঙ্গবন্ধুর সৈনিকদের নিয়ে রঙ তামাশা করবে; মুক্তিযোদ্ধা নির্ধারণের নামে ব্যবসা করবে, এর জন্য যুদ্ধে যাইনি, এর জন্য ৩০ লক্ষ বাঙ্গালী শহীদ হয়নি; এর জন্য ২ লক্ষ ৪০ হাজার মা বোনের ইজ্জত হারায়নি। আসল মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের তালিকাই করতে ব্যর্থ মোজাম্মেল হক।
এই মিথ্যাচারের জন্য আল্লাহ্‌ বিচার করবেন রোজ হাসরের দিন। মহান আল্লাহর বিচারে কারো হাত নেই। আল্লাহর উপরে কোন মন্ত্রী নেই; আল্লাহর উপরে বিচারক নেই; রোজ হাসরের থেকে শক্তিশালী ক্ষমতাবান কোন আদালত নেই। বহু আসল মুক্তিযোদ্ধা এখনো তালিকার বাইরে এবং এ সমস্যা আগামী ১০০ বছরেও কোন সরকার সমাধান করতে পারবে না। ভুয়া মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের কথা রেকর্ড হবে ।
মন্ত্রী নিজেও জানে না যে উপজেলা জেলা গুলোতে এই তালিকা নিয়ে কি পরিমান টাকার ছাড়াছড়ি চলছে? কি পরিমান ব্যবসা করছে নব্য থানা কমান্ডারগণ। এমন কোন উপজেলা নেই যেখানে সত্যকারের মুক্তিযোদ্ধা বাদ পড়ে নাই এবং ভূয়া মিথ্যা তথ্য প্রদানকারী মন্ত্রীর ক্ষমতা বলে নয়তো এম পির ক্ষমতা বলে অথবা উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তার ক্ষমতা বলে নতুন তালিকায় নাম লিখিয়েছে। এমন প্রমান আমার গ্রামে আমার ইউনিয়নে রয়েছে। আমি ত অন্যের ক্কথা শূনে এ সব লিখিনি ভাই।ফুরিয়ে যাচ্ছে ৭১ এর সোনার ছেলে মেয়েরা, বেচে থাকবে শুধু ৭১ এ জন্ম নেয়া নব্য মুক্তিযোদ্ধারা, যারা লক্ষ টাকায় মুক্তিযুদ্ধের সনদ কিনে মুক্তিযোদ্ধা হয়েছে। আমরা মুজিবনগরে (ভারতে) প্রশিক্ষণপ্রাপ্ত মুক্তিযোদ্ধা এর চেয়ে বড় পরিচয়ের প্রয়োজন আছে বলে মনে করি না। মাননীয় প্রধান মন্ত্রীর বিশেষ সহকারী ডঃ আব্দুস সোবহান গোলাপ ভারতের চাদপাড়া এবং পরবর্তীতে ব্যারাকপুর মুক্তিযোদ্ধা প্রশিক্ষণ শিবিরে প্রশিক্ষণ নেয়া মুক্তিযোদ্ধা এবং আমরাও একই সময়ে একই শিবিরে একই কমান্ডারের অধীন প্রশিক্ষণ নেয়া মুক্তিযোদ্ধা। ডঃ আব্দুস সোবহান গোলাপের নাম যদি মুক্তিযোদ্ধা সংসদের তালিকায় থাকতে পারে, তবে আমাদের নাম থাকবে না কেন? শুধু আমরা নই, সারা বাংলাদেশে বহু অখ্যাত অপরিচিত অশিক্ষিত অজো পাড়া গায়ে ছড়িয়ে ছিটিয়ে থাকা বহু প্রকৃত মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের নাম এখনো তালিকাভুক্ত হয়নি। বহু মুক্তিযোদ্ধা ইতোমধ্যেই পরলোকগমন করেছেন, কোন স্বীকৃতি ও সুযোগ সুবিধা ভোগ না করেই তারা চলে গেছেন বাঙ্গালী জাতিকে মহান স্বাধীনতা প্রদান করে। তাদের নাম কে তালিকাভুক্ত করবে? কেন একটি সঠিক তদন্ত কমিটি কর্তৃক সারা দেশে মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের তালিকা করা হয়নি? এ প্রশ্ন সরকার ও দেশবাসীর কাছে। আমরা মনে করি মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধের নেত্রিত্বদানকারী দল হিসেবে জাতিরজনক বংগবন্ধু কন্যা শেখ হাসিনার সরকারের এ মহান দায়িত্ব মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের জীবদ্ধশায় সম্পন্ন করা উচিত। সবাই শেয়ার করুন, মুক্তিযোদ্ধাদের প্রতি সত্যিকারে শ্রদ্ধা থাকে।
আমার সার্টিফিকেট দরকার নাই। কোন ভাতার দরকার নাই। আপনি মুসলমান দাবী করলে আমি কেন করবো না? আমিও তো নামাজ পড়ি? মন্ত্রী আমাকে অপমান করতে পারে না। তার চেয়ে আওয়ামী লীগের জন্য আমার অবদান সেই ৬৯ থেকে অদ্যাবধি তিল পরিমান কম নয়; বঙ্গবন্ধু আমাকে চাকুরী দিয়েছিলেন সচিবালয়ে মুক্তিযোদ্ধা হিসেবে। অমুক্তিযোদ্ধা ভাতা পায় এবং তা আওয়ামী লীগের আমলে এবং আওয়ামী লীগের মন্ত্রীর স্বাক্ষরে কেন? আমার কি ইচ্ছে করে না যে আমার সন্তান মুক্তিযোদ্ধার সন্তান হিসেবে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে ভর্তি হোক। আমার সন্তানের কি ইচ্ছে করে না, তার বাবা মুক্কতিযোদ্ধা এ কথা অন্য দশজনের নিকট বলে গৌরব বোধ করতে? মন্ত্রীর ইচ্ছে মত চলতে পারে না; এ সব তথ্য নেত্রীর জানা দরকার।
নিবেদক - মোকতেল হোসেন মুক্তি, কন্ঠশিল্পী মুক্তিযোদ্ধা,
প্রতিষ্ঠাতা সভাপতি, সময়৭১।
মালদ্বীপ আওয়ামী লীগ
বঙ্গবন্ধু পরিষদ, মালদ্বীপ শাখা
সাধারণ সম্পাদক
মালদ্বীপস্থ প্রবাসী বাংলাদেশী কমিউনিটি এসোসিয়েশন
সুরকার গীতিকার ও সঙ্গীত পরিচালক
সঙ্গীত শিক্ষক
জয় বাংলা জয় বঙ্গবন্ধু ।

War Criminal Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi of Pakistan

2012-06-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

A research body in Bangladesh, tracking those who worked against the country’s freedom movement and killed unarmed civilians at the behest of the then Pakistan regime in 1971, has unveiled a list of what it calls “war criminals”. The list includes several top Bangladeshi politicians and Pakistani military officers.

The list, along with documents and witnesses, buttresses the ongoing demand for “trial for war crimes” for which the current caretaker government ruling the country last week approached the United Nations.

War Crimes Facts Finding Committee (WCFFC) Thursday released a list of 1,597 war criminals responsible for the mass killings, rapes and other atrocities during the Liberation War.

The Pakistani regime of military ruler Gen Yahya Khan ordered a crackdown in the then East Pakistan after elections gave winners of the east wing a majority. Atrocities were carried out between March and December 1971.

Of those on the list, 369 are members of Pakistan military and 1,238 are their local collaborators including members of Razakar and Al Badr (forces formed to aid the Pakistani authorities) and Peace Committee.

The list was not complete and more names would come with more evidence and documents, the committee told media Thursday, The Daily Star reported.

The list and evidence would be handed to the government and Election Commission to help them try the war criminals and disqualify them from elections. Besides, those would be circulated to the international community.

Four women who were tortured by the Pakistan forces were present.

While many have died in the 37 years that have elapsed, Bangladeshi ‘collaborators’ on the list and still alive mostly belong to Jamaat-e-Islami.

Some of them who were then involved in Muslim League and Nezam-e-Islam parties and are now leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jatiya Party, that have ruled the country at different times.

Despite the time-gap, the list reads like the who’s who in the present-day Bangladesh.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)’s former Ameer (chief) Golam Azam, the present chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid figure on the list.

Both Nizami and Mojahid were ministers in the government of Khaleda Zia (2001-06).

Others on the list, now JeI leaders, are assistant secretaries General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and A.K.M. Yusuf. Central committee members Delawar Hussain Sayedee, Abdus Sobhan, Abul Kalam Muhammad Yusuf and Abdul Quader Molla are among the high-profile Jamaat leaders on the list.

Former BNP lawmakers Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Abdul Alim, and Anwar Zahid, a former minister during military ruler H.M. Ershad rule (1982-90), are also on the list that contains division- and thana-wise (police station) names of Razakar, Al Badr, and Peace Committee members.

“We have drawn up the list on the basis of field-level investigation, statements of eyewitnesses and victims, and examination of relevant documents for 17 long years,” said M.A. Hasan, convener of the committee dedicated to research on acts of genocide and atrocities committed in 1971.

He said they are ready to place all the necessary evidence and documents once the government forms a special tribunal to try the war criminals.

“We have prepared the list not to take revenge but to break the silence of impunity,” said Hasan.

Several Pakistanis figure on the list, many of whom are dead. They include the then military ruler, Gen A.M. Yahya Khan, Lt Gen Tikka Khan, who went on to become the Pakistan Army chief, governor and martial law administrator of the then East Pakistan, Maj Gen Khadim Hussain Raja, general officer commanding (GOC) of the then East Pakistan, Maj Gen Rao Forman Ali, adviser to governor of the then East Pakistan, Gen Abdul Hamid Khan, the then chief of staff of Pakistan army, Maj Gen A.O. Mittha Khan, Gen S.G.M. Pirjadah, Gen Iftekhar Janjua, Brig Jahanjeb Arbab and Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the then commander of Eastern Command, are among the Pakistan military personnel listed as war criminals. None of them are in service now.

Niazi surrendered with 93,000 soldiers, ending the war that made Bangladesh free.

See also: Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan and Instrument of Surrender (1971)

Following the resignation of Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan on 7 March 1971, as the Unified Commander of Eastern Military High Command and Martial Law Administrator, the General Yahya Khan's military government was unable to find an active duty officer who was willing to take this task. During this 9 month period, several officers assumed the command but was repeatedly removed as they were brutally failed to restore the order. And, many other high and senior officers of Pakistan Armed Forces were cautious on the posting and none of the senior officers were willing to take the charge of the East Pakistan. Meanwhile, on December 14, General Niazi himself volunteered for the job of Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan. General Yahya Khan immediately made him as the Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan and the Unified Commander of the Eastern Military High Command. General Yahya Khan sent him a telegram message stating, "You have fought a heroic battle against overwhelming odds. The nation is proud of you …You have now reached a stage where further resistance is no longer humanly possible nor will it serve any useful purpose… You should now take all necessary measures to stop the fighting and preserve the lives of armed forces personnel, all those from West Pakistan and all loyal elements".

The situation in East-Pakistan was extremely difficult, as Bengali forces in the Pakistani Army had gone into mutiny, large segments of the population were hostile, and an independence movement was gaining steam among the Bengalis.Despite this, Niazi and Mohammad Shariff were able to reaffirm Pakistan's control over wide parts of East Pakistan territory, opening the window for a political solution to the turmoil - this would not come to fruition.

Pakistani Army Commander in the Eastern Command, Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi, signing the Instrument of Surrender in front of General of Officer Commanding in Chief of India and Bangladesh Forces in the Eastern Theatre, Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora. 16th December, 1971

However, on December 16 of 1971, East-Pakistan Intelligence Directorate (EPID) learned the Indo-Bengali siege of Dhaka.Niazi appealed for a cease-fire but Sam Manekshaw set the deadline for the surrender. Failing to surrender on time, a siege on Dhaka will take place. Not wanting to deterioration of the city, General Niazi signed an instrument of surrender with his counterpart Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-chief of Eastern Command of the Indian Army. The meeting was set at Ramna Race Course in Dhaka at 16:31 IST on 16 December 1971, and General Niazi surrendered the Eastern Military High Command's nearly 93,000 personnel to the hands of India.

Aftermath: Revelation

It was only after returning to Pakistan as empty-handed prisoner of war did Niazi criticize Tikka and Rao Farman. Niazi himself admitted that he raised the Razakar forces, who were employed against the Mukti Bahini (guerilla forces) and were used to kill, terrorize people and destroy rural villages. His vows against the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini were notorious. The crackdown against the Bengalis had gone too far, and the result saw Pakistan Combatant forces involved in a guerrilla war with the Bengali Mukti Bahini, under C-in-C General Osmany, Bangladesh Forces. The Pakistan Combatant Forces were unprepared and untrained for such warfare. After a preemptive strike on the Indian territories in the western front, a full-scale invasion of East Pakistan by India resulted in isolation for Niazi's and Shariff's forces being ambushed by the Mukti Bahini, and with the absence of external aid, eventual surrender.

Daughter of Democracy Sheikh Hasina

2012-06-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Honorable Prime Minister of Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina Wajed

SHEIKH HASINA, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, was born on 28 September, 1947 at Tungipara under Gopalganj district. She is the eldest of five children of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh. She graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. She was elected Vice President of the Students Union of Government Intermediate Girl’s College. She was a member of the students League Unit of Dhaka University and Secretary of the Students League Unit of Rokeya Hall. She actively participated in all the mass movements since her student life.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with the members of his family was martyred on the fateful night of 15 August 1975. Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors as they were in West Germany at that time. Later she went to the United Kingdom from where she started her movement against the autocratic rule in 1980. Sheikh Hasina was unanimously elected President of Bangladesh Awami League in 1981 in her absence, while she was forced to live in exile in New Delhi. Ending six years in exile, she returned home finally on 17 May 1981.

In the parliamentary election held in 1986, she won three seats. She was elected Leader of the Opposition. She led the historic mass movement in 1990 and announced the constitutional formula for peaceful transfer of power through Articles 51 and 56 of the Constitution.

Following the election of 1991 Sheikh Hasina became Leader of the Opposition in the country’s Fifth Parliament, She steered all the political parties in the parliament towards changing the Presidential system into the Parliamentary one.

Sheikh Hasina created awareness among the people and waged a struggle for Non-party Caretaker Government to ensure free and fair polls. Her movement reached the peak after a non-cooperation movement in March 1996 and the provision for Non-party Caretaker Government was incorporated in the Constitution.

At the call of Sheikh Hasina a large number of people of all walks of life expressed solidarity with the movement at the ‘Janatar Mancha’. In the Parliamentary election held on 12 June 1996, Bangladesh Awami League emerged as the majority party and she assumed the office of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 23 June 1996.
After becoming the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina adopted a number of pragmatic policies for overall development of the nation including poverty alleviation. During the last four years her government achieved laudable success including signing of the historic 30 year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India, signing of historic peace Accord on Chittagong Hill Tracts and inauguration of the Bangabandhu Bridge on the river Jamuna.

Sheikh Hasina was conferred Degree of Doctor of Law by the Boston University of the USA on 6 February 1997 and Honorary Doctor of Law by the Waseda University of Japan on 4 July 1997. She was also conferred the Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Liberal Arts by University of Abertay Dundee of the United Kingdom on 25 October, 1997. She was conferred Honorary Degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature, honoris causa) by Visva-Bharati University of West Bengal, India on 28 January 1999. She was also conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on the ground of her distinguished creative contributions in the service of society by the Australian National University on 20 October 1999. Dhaka University conferred Honorary 'Doctor of Laws' degree to Sheikh Hasina on 18 December, 1999 for her outstanding contribution towards peace and democracy. The World famous Catholic University of Brussels, Belgium conferred Honorary Doctorate degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) on Sheikh Hasina on 04 February, 2000 for her decisive role in establishing democracy, protecting human rights and peace. Sheikh Hasina has been conferred Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Bridgeport University, USA on 5 September, 2000. Sheikh Hasina has been awarded UNESCO's Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her remarkable contribution to bringing peace through ending the 25 years of conflict in Chittagong Hill Tracts with political courage and statesmanship.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received prestigious Pearl S. Buck Award '99 on 9 April 2000 in recognition of her vision, courage, achievements in political, economic and humanitarian fields by Randolph Macon Women's College of USA. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been awarded the prestigious CERES' medal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in recognition to her fight against hunger on 02 August, 1999. The All India Peace Council awarded her 'Mother Teresa Award' in 1998. The Mahatma M K Gandhi Foundation of Oslo, Norway awarded Sheikh Hasina ‘M K Gandhi Award’ for 1998 for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non violent religions harmony and growth of democracy at the level of grassroots in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina was named Paul Haris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. She was also given Medal of Distinction in 1996-97 and 1998-99 and Head of State Medal in 1996-97 by the International Association of Lions Clubs. She has authored several books including "Why Are They Street Children", "The Origin of Autocracy", 'Miles to Go", "Elimination of Poverty and Some Thoughts", "People and Democracy", "My Dream My Struggle" and "Development for the Masses." She performed holy Hajj and Umrah several times. Sheikh Hasina is the Chairperson of "The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust". She has been helping a lot of poor boys and girls for their education. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, throughout her life has been a strong proponent of peace, freedom and democracy. From an early age, inspired by the lofty ideals and love for the people of her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the liberator of Bangladesh, she developed a strong sense of identity for the common people. She always spoke out against oppression and violation of human rights. This commitment has hardened over the years, particularly when her parents, brothers and scores of relatives were brutally assassinated by the misguided members of the military in 1975 soon after the independence of Bangladesh. Since that time her resolve for democracy and development for the teeming millions of Bangladesh has become firmly entrenched. She struggled for the return of democracy in Bangladesh and fought valiantly for its establishment in the country in every possible manner. She was committed to making Parliament the centre of all national activities. In 1996, the people of Bangladesh gave her a strong mandate as the Prime Minister of the country. Despite serious resource and constraints and recurrent natural calamity as well as widespread poverty, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during the first two years of her government, has lived up to her unswerving commitment to the cause of peace, democracy, development and human rights. Her first act of peace within months of her assumption of office was the initiative for resolution of the long-standing water-sharing dispute with India through a 30-years treaty. This put an end to a very complex regional dispute. Her visionary idea of a business summit among the political and private sector leaders of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan has added a new chapter in the history of South Asia.

Her dedicated leadership also made possible a peace agreement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, thereby solving the 23-year old insurgency in the Hill districts of Bangladesh. This peace accord brought an area inhabited by nearly 5 million people out of violence and into a time of peace and development. Though the international media has not given much prominence to this accord, it is uniquely remarkable because the peace accord benefited such a large number of people and the whole area has been brought under development programs following the complete surrender of arms by the insurgents.

Her quest for peace has taken her to India and Pakistan to talk to the leaders of these two countries soon after the nuclear test urging reduction of tension in the region.

Prime Minister Hasina has been a strong advocate for the Culture of Peace at global, regional and national levels. In many major conferences, she espoused the concept of the Culture of Peace, most recently in South Africa at the 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which has a membership of 114 countries. Her initiative has resulted in the first-ever resolution by the Plenary of the United Nations General Assembly on the Culture of Peace. She also provided leadership for the declaration by the UN of the period 2001 to 2010 as the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

         Prime Minister Hasina’s determination for the eradication of poverty, in particular through wide-ranging microcredit programmes, has been recognized world-wide. Her co-chairpersonship of the Microcredit Summit in February 1997 which resolved to bring 100 million families of the world out of poverty by 2005 focused world attention to her strong commitment to the eradication of poverty and enlistment of the poorest of the poor. She has been a champion of microcredit by spreading the message in major international forums. Her leadership led to the adoption for the first time by UN General Assembly a far-reaching resolution on the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty.
         Along with poverty eradication, she has focused on the empowerment of women and has successfully completed legislation to ensure adequate representation of women in the local government bodies, leading to the election of more than 14,000 women to these bodies in 1997. She has taken major initiatives to stop violence against women and children.
        She has also provided leadership in the field of education, particularly for the education of girls in her own country as well as advocating it for global support. Her government has greatly enhanced budgetary allocation for primary education focusing on girls’ education.

To improve the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has particularly focused on human development, paying special attention to healthcare, family planning, nutrition, women’s rights and survival and development of children. At the UN and other forums, she has been a major voice in support of the cause of children and their rights.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has, all along her life, defended human rights in every possible way. Her active promotion of the rights of women and children has drawn appreciation by both government and NGOs as well as international organizations. She has promoted the right to development as having centrality in the human rights regime. At the NAM Summit in South Africa in 1998, her proposal for a Convention on the Right to Development received welcoming endorsement of the Heads of State and Government. She initiated the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission and the office of Ombudsperson as well as Bangladesh’s recent accession to six major human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Her keen interest resulted in the signature by Bangladesh of the Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ratification of the Landmines Treaty, being the first country in South Asia to do so.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiative resulted in the hosting of the first-ever conference of the Asian parliamentarians devoted to peace and cooperation in Dhaka in September 1999 which elected her as the first President of the Association of Asian Parliaments for peace established at the conference.

At present, as someone who has lost so much personally and has been a victim of oppression and denial of freedom, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stands out as a messenger of peace, democracy, development and human rights. Her leadership of the eighth largest country of the world manifests her concern for the people, seen again during the worst-ever floods in Bangladesh in 1998.

§ Sheikh Hasina is the recipient of the UNESCO Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for 1998 for her role in bringing peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh.

§ Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Award for 1998 (Oslo, Norway) for her contribution towards promotion of communal understanding, non-violence, religious harmony and growth of grassroots democracy in Bangladesh.

§ She has been awarded 1999 CERES Medal for contribution to the agriculture development by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

§ She is the winner of the 1999 Pearl S. Buck Award for "your vision, your courage and your achievements in political, economic and humanitarian spheres capture the spirit of the award and of the woman who inspired it."

§ She has been awarded honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts by the University of Alberta Dundee in the United Kingdom in October 1997.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Boston University in the United States and the Waseda University of Japan.

§ She has been conferred the degree of Desikottama (Doctor of Literature) by the Visva-Bharati University, India founded by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Australian National University in October 1999.

§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by Dhaka University in December 1999.

§ She has been conferred honorary Doctor of Laws by the Catholic University of Brussels in February 2000.

§ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been conferred by the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her contribution to world peace and development by the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States on 5 September 2000.

Under her leadership her party Bangladesh Awami League led grand alliance to win a landslide victory in the 9th Parliament Election on December 29, 2008 with 262 seats out of 299 in the National Parliament.

Sheikh Hasina took oath as Prime Minister of Bangladesh at a ceremony held at Banghabhaban on January 06, 2009.

Sheikh Hasina is married having one son and one daughter.

The Politics of 1971 By Afsan Choudhury

2012-06-28T23:52:00.001-07:00

The politics of 1971

Afsan Choudhury

makes the case that parties opposed to the Liberation War have no place in independent Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, history has become party politics. The source of this attitude may be in the nature of the political leadership that we have had since 1972 who feel anything is justified if it leads to political power.

Of the three main politically contesting histories, each party now has its own version. It means the AL, the BNP, and now the Jamaat version of 1971.

We, in general, also refuse to contest obvious factual oddities and occasional absurdities because we are afraid that our national consciousness may be challenged by what is found. In the last 40 years we have lost our confidence to face history.

Given such weak nerves and even weaker intellectual muscles, how can people expect to cope with the demands of history, both in writing and practice? The failure to write a credible history of 1971 has allowed parties who opposed the birth of Bangladesh to control the political destiny of the country. The case of Jamaat-e-Islami is a typical one of inadequate academic history writing becoming a political problem.

Civil war and other wars?

Whether it is the Indian historian Sarmila Basu or a Jamaat or any other pseudo-Islamic extremist cadre, 1971 is usually a "civil war." The argument is, Pakistan was one country and both were warring sides on a shared soil. Another argument is that the war was between 1ndia and Pakistan, and Bangladesh was a hyphenated part of history, a sub-text. Even Benazir Bhutto while talking to us -- Mohiuddin Ahmed, Muntasir Mamoon and I when we visited Pakistan -- called the Bangladeshis partisans "Indian supporters" or perhaps something more.

The civil war argument doesn't work because Bangladesh's Independence Day was March 26, 1971. Bangladesh came into being as a state on that day and the Pakistani forces became an occupation army. So the question of civil war doesn't arise: it was a war between two states, one occupying another.

Pakistanis may claim that this was a civil war but it is neither logical nor can be proven in law. The "civil war" argument applies only if people refuse to accept March 26, 1971 as the day of Bangladeshi independence. Those in Bangladesh denying this are denying the fact of Bangladesh coming into being. Maybe this argument can be made in Pakistan, logical or not. In that case, one may also argue that those who wish to argue the Pakistan way may go there.

Indo-Pak war or Bangla-Pak war?

Another argument is that it was an Indo-Pak war and so all were part of one mega-war. This argument arises from a lack of knowledge of the events, and not just of this war but any war.

Rarely, if ever, is a singular war fought. In the case of 1971, several wars were being fought, but the primary war was fought between Pakistani and Bangladeshi forces. It is not "patriotism" to say so -- but all wars flowed from this war. This war was followed by other wars, including the Indo-Pak war which was the by-product of the Bangla-Pak war. It couldn't have arisen without the event of March 26, so everything that happened after March 26 was contingent to this principal war.

There were several subsidiary wars going on within all the sides. Bangladesh forces also fought the Maoists, who were also fighting two wars, one against Pakistan and another against the Awami League. There were internal wars happening, like the factional wars within AL leadership and India, which had its roots in Cold War Politics. There was conflict between India and Bangladesh, part of which was manifested by the raising of the Mujib Bahini manned by Bangladeshis, but controlled by Indian military. Many Mujib Bahini members even fought with the general Mukti Bahini members as well.

The US and the USSR were opponents as well and both worried that they would be dragged into a wider South Asian war. In the final days, they even had a show of armed fleets in the Indian Ocean. The ethnic militant groups of North-East India fought the central Indians because of their own nationalism. The ethnic minorities of Bangladesh fought their war with Pakistan, the repressive state, although they were outside the Bengali nationalist movement which spawned the war.

In other words, there were many wars, but the principal war was the Bangladesh-Pakistan war. It was also the first war. Every war and conflict that occurred in that time period was "subsidiary," or a result of that war. This war was between two states, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which became a state on March 26, 1971 and was occupied by Pakistan till December 16 of that year. This, in a nutshell, is the history of 1971.

There is no scope for calling this a civil war, nor for locating the Bangladesh war within the Indo-Pak war, even if the forces of some parties were much bigger. Size has nothing to do with facts.

Social collaboration: Impact, action, and consequence.

Those who were with the forces supporting Pakistan army were enemies of the Bangladesh state. How does one identify them?

Pakistan set up "Peace Committees" all over the country to help fight the Bangladesh forces that they called "miscreants." From the village level to the national level, these committees represented the spirit and will of the Pakistan state. Anyone who was a member swore allegiance to Pakistan and promised to do everything to sustain the state. Similarly, the Razakar Bahini was also set up to counter the Mukti Bahini and help the Pakistan army reach into the deep of Bangladesh.

Although today the term Razakar has become generic term meaning "traitor," in 1971 it was a job analogous to that of the Ansars of today. Most of the people who joined came from the poorest class and looked upon being a razakar as a job which apart from a salary also allowed them to loot and steal with impunity. Several historians have noted that most of these razakars were not ideological at all, and most joined as an economic and not an ideological choice.

Razakars were also the largest band of organised criminals in 1971. In areas where they were active, public hatred towards them was very high. In most cases, in most villages, most razakars were dealt violent justice, from lynching to head shaving to beating, etc after the war was over. In case where rapes were reported, the punishment was expectedly severe.

However, in many cases, the Razakars also supported the Muktis in lieu of money, because they were rarely if ever ideological. They were criminalised by war, but were not supporters of Pakistan, though their actions were in compliance with the objective that Pakistan had adopted.

The rural Peace Committees were manned by people who were village-centric conservatives, often more interested in controlling the village than fighting the war. This control had been upset after the nationalist movement peaked and Sangram Committees were formed, which were mostly led by AL partisans. So while the village Shanti Committees were mostly opposed to the Sangram Committees, they were half supporters of Pakistan at best, and were more part of village politics. Many actively supported the Pak army and Razakar actions. Support to the Bangladesh forces was also there because the village fighters mostly came from the same rural elite.

In all cases, the members of the political parties supporting Pakistan lent a violent hand, and these were people who didn't need to be coaxed into supporting or opposing. They did it by choice and they belonged to the parties who were defeated in the 1970 elections, the traditional cross-Pakistan parties like JI, ML, PDP, etc

Both the Shanti Committees and the Razakars were in the end located within the Pakistani defensive strategy applied to an occupied land. All those who supported Pakistan should have been subjected to a review after 1971. Maybe the state did not do or was unable to do so because of compelling pressures. However, at the grassroots level, social scrutiny by the villagers and leaders was made, and in many cases action taken. Even if the central authorities and the national political leadership were unable or unwilling to act against collaborators, many villages did. In many cases, such reviews led to violent acts which are inevitable in such cases.

The Founder of Bangladesh, father of Bengali nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Political collaboration: Who opposed Bangladesh? However, social collaboration is different from political collaboration. While social acts may be sourced in local conditions and not directly linked with state policies, political collaboration is primarily an act of upholding the state. This involves political constructs like parties applying political policies to strengthen the state. The premier instrument of political construction in occupied Bangladesh was the National Peace Committee comprised of various parties that wanted Pakistan to prevail. The political parties who were members of that body were making a political commitment to Pakistan.

The War Criminal of Bangladesh Liberation War 1971

The other source of their commitment to Pakistan was participation in the by-election of 1971. This by-election threw out the results of the 1970 election which was the legal basis of the independence declaration of Bangladesh and legitimacy of all acts thereafter. Those who became members of the National Peace Committee and participated in the elections acted against Bangladesh state in strengthening the state of Pakistan. On that ground, all the parties and all the people involved should be guilty of acting against the state of Bangladesh.

Such people or parties should not be part of the political structure of a state whose inception they opposed and who even supported the actions of a military force to kill that state. It is argued that Bangladesh was not fully formed and the forces were "rebel" forces. This point is not valid because that state came into existence on March 26, 1971 and the rebel forces were actually the national force.

It was for this reason that all the opposing parties were banned in 1972 as they were enemies of the state, in the clearest sense of the term. This statement is not an emotional one at all, like those who are feeling enraged at what Jamaat leadership and supporters have said about the 1971 war. It is simply not possible to constitutionally tolerate those who had opposed the circumstances of its coming into being and hope to succeed as a state. Where else are such forces tolerated?

We need facts but do we want to look for them? The issue of war crimes is irrelevant here because that depends on personal liability and specific law, backed by evidence. That may or may not exist because nobody has bothered to collect evidence all these years. Before embarking on another example of a misguided legal attempt, like the effort to strip Gholam Azam of his citizenship, Jamaat and other anti-Bangladesh parties should be banned on the grounds of not having wanted Bangladesh in the first place. They have no legal right to participate in Bangladeshi politics.

The reason they were allowed is because our quality of politics is so bad that our leaders consider allowing anti-Bangladesh parties into politics as a simple way to manage state politics. It could only happen in a state that politically fails almost at inception.

The engine of failure roared loudly when one-party rule was established and gained momentum when the constitutional pillars were taken away and increased even further when one religion was made the state religion. They are indicators of failure, because the constitution was tampered with on grounds of personal or a party political benefit. Maybe the entire leadership associated with such decisions deserve to be tried in a constitutional court.

The case against individual leaders is another matter and its best to set up a committee to peruse and explore existing evidence. It is no use screaming, if nothing can be proven in court; no use saying that three million were killed if there is no credible survey to say how many really died and how.

Had the events around Bangladesh's birth and history turned into a rational discourse and not an issue of religion and taboo, we not only would have known more, but we would not have had the leaders who opposed the birth of Bangladesh flourish in that very country.

It is interesting that Jamaat or Muslim League, which never had a chance in East Pakistan politics from 1947 to 1971, have now shared state power in Bangladesh. We don't mind that, apparently, because our rulers and their parties have violated the constitution so many times in letter and spirit. Within that framework, the Awami League, the BNP, and the Jamaat-e-islami are blood brothers.

Afsan Choudhury is a journalist writing for Bangladeshi and South Asian publications.

The continuing rape of our history

2012-06-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

The continuing rape of our history

Mashuqur Rahman demolishes Sarmila Bose's revisionist history of 1971

Genocide denial is a phenomenon that crops up to challenge almost every accepted case of genocide. The genocide committed by the Pakistan army during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 is no exception. Because of the scale of the atrocities in 1971 against a civilian population of 70 million people, it has proved impossible for genocide deniers to claim that the atrocities did not occur. Instead, they have focused on two tactics used to deny most genocides: that the magnitude of the killings was not that great, and that the Pakistan army had no systematic policy of genocide.

The grim numbers of 1971: Genocide versus denial
Most estimates of the 1971 genocide put the death toll between 300,000 and 3 million Bangladeshis, with between 200,000 to 400,000 women raped. R.J. Rummel, in his book Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900, puts the death toll at around 1.5 million. Gendercide Watch terms the 1971 genocide as one of the most concentrated acts of genocide in the twentieth century. Susan Brownmiller, in her book Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, puts the number of women raped by the Pakistan military and their local collaborators, the razakars, between 200,000 and 400,000. According to Brownmiller, the Pakistani army raped Bengali girls as young as eight and grandmothers as old as seventy-five.

After the War, the Pakistan government produced a report -- the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report -- on the actions of the Pakistan army in 1971. While the report acknowledged that the Pakistan army had indeed committed atrocities in Bangladesh, it downplayed the extent of the atrocities and denied that there was any systematic policy of genocide. The report put the death toll from the genocide at 26,000, based on "situation reports submitted from time to time by the Eastern Command to the General Headquarters."

The Pakistani report's estimate of 26,000 dead stands in stark contrast to every other estimate of the death toll of between 300,000 to 3 million. The report was an attempt by the Pakistan government to dictate the narrative before the true extent of the genocide became evident to the world. The Pakistani report has, nonetheless, stood as the document of last resort for most 1971 genocide deniers.

Sarmila Bose's (questionable) claims

Following up on her 2005 paper denying the extent of the 1971 genocide, published in the Economic and Political Weekly, Sarmila Bose has now published a paper denying the extent of the rape of Bangladeshi women by the Pakistan army and the razakars. In her paper titled "Losing the Victims: Problems of Using Women as Weapons in Recounting the Bangladesh War," she states:

"That rape occurred in East Pakistan in 1971 has never been in any doubt. The question is what was the true extent of rape, who were the victims and who the perpetrators, and was there any systematic policy of rape by any party, as opposed to opportunistic sexual crimes in times of war."

At the very beginning of her paper, she lays down the two tactics familiar to all genocide deniers: she questions the extent of the rape and questions whether there was any systematic policy of rape. Ms. Bose argues that claiming "hundreds of thousands" were raped trivialises "the possibly several thousand true rape victims" of the war. She, however, does not offer a good explanation as to how she reached the "several thousand" number, other than saying that so many rapes would not be possible because of the size of the Pakistani army in 1971. She also, unsurprisingly, quotes the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report to support her assertion that so many rapes could not have occurred.

To try to bolster her argument, she claims that the size of the Pakistani army in Bangladesh was only 34,000 men. Then she asserts: "For an army of 34,000 to rape on this scale in eight or nine months (while fighting insurgency, guerrilla war and an invasion by India), each would-be perpetrator would have had to commit rape at an incredible rate."

The actual number of Pakistani forces at the end of the war, and taken POW by the Indians, was 90,368, including over 54,000 army and 22,000 paramilitary forces. It is not unreasonable to conclude that a force of 90,000 could rape between 200,000 to 400,000 women in the space of nine months. To rape 200,000 Bangladeshi women a Pakistani force of 90,000 would have to rape 2 to 3 women each in nine months. Not only is this scale of atrocity possible by an army engaged in a systematic campaign of genocide, it also has parallels in other modern conflicts (for example, the rape of between 250,000 to 500,000 women in Rwanda within 100 days).

The Pakistan army: Gentlemen in uniform at a time of war

Ms. Bose also paints a picture of the Pakistan military as a disciplined force that spared women and children. Citing her field research she writes: "Bangladeshi participants and eyewitnesses described battles, raids, massacres and executions, but told me that women were not harmed by the army in these events except by chance, such as in crossfire. The pattern that emerged from these incidents was that the Pakistan army targeted adult males while sparing women and children."

However, her field research is contradicted by all available evidence. From the early days of the war, women and girls were targeted for rape and killed. On March 30, 1971, the American Consul General in Dhaka, Archer Blood, sent a telegram to the State Department recounting the Pakistani atrocities in Dhaka. In it he wrote about the massacre at Rokeya Hall at Dhaka University where, according to Blood, the building was "set ablaze and girls machine-gunned as they fled the building."

On March 31, 1971, Archer Blood sent another telegram which recounted atrocities against girls. Blood wrote: "Six naked female bodies at Rokeya Hall, Dacca U. Feet tied together. Bits of rope hanging from ceiling fans. Apparently raped, shot and hung by their heels from fans."

The reports from the American Embassy in Dhaka give us a small window into the systematic killing spree that was Operation Searchlight, the code name the Pakistani army gave to the first stage of the genocide operation.

Throughout her paper, Ms. Bose continues to paint the Pakistan military as a disciplined force not capable of systematic rape. She cited a memo written by General Niazi that reminds his officers that they have a "code of honour" and as "gentlemen and officers" they should abide by it. She then writes that Pakistani officers she spoke to were "indignant" at charges of large-scale rape and claimed that these charges were false.

Ms. Bose follows a similar pattern throughout her paper. She gives credence to the stories told to her by the Pakistani military, the perpetrators of the rapes, and dismisses as "alleged" and not credible the accounts of the rape victims. However, contemporaneous news reports from 1971 tell a different story. For example, an October 25, 1971, a Time Magazine article, detailing the Pakistani military atrocities, reports on women and girls held captive and raped at Pakistani military headquarters in Dhaka:

"One of the more horrible revelations concerns 563 young Bengali women, some only 18, who have been held captive inside Dacca's dingy military cantonment since the first days of the fighting. Seized from Dacca University and private homes and forced into military brothels, the girls are all three to five months pregnant. The army is reported to have enlisted Bengali gynecologists to abort girls held at military installations. But for those at the Dacca cantonment it is too late for abortion. The military has begun freeing the girls a few at a time, still carrying the babies of Pakistani soldiers."

A problematic methodology

Having portrayed the Pakistan military as a benevolent force, Ms. Bose then attempts to discredit a handful of accounts of rape victims as a way of casting doubt on the rapes committed during the 1971 genocide.

She begins by trying to cast doubt on an eyewitness, named Rabeya Khatun, whom she dismisses as illiterate, to rape at Rajarbag. Ms. Bose then dismisses accounts of two other corroborating witnesses because their testimony was similar to Ms. Khatun's and they, too, were illiterate. Ms. Bose declares the witness's testimony not credible because, "the language is not what would be used either by illiterate sweepers or by educated Bengalis in everyday conversation."

She then finds refuge in the account of a Pakistani Lt. Col. Taj who, unsurprisingly, "categorically denied that any molestation of women had taken place at Rajarbag by his men." Ms. Bose then informs us Lt. Col. Taj was not actually present at Rajarbag after the first night of military action. Yet, she felt the need to inject him as a fact witness.

night of military action. Yet, she felt the need to inject him as a fact witness. Then, she dismisses Ms. Khatun's account as "highly dubious," declaring "until and unless other, credible witnesses come forward, the hellish account attributed to one illiterate woman simply will not suffice."

Dismissing witnesses simply on the grounds of illiteracy is a serious methodological fallacy. Eyewitnesses do not need to read or write to know what constitutes sexual violence. The Pakistan military did not discriminate between illiterate and literate classes in its campaign of killings and rape against Bangladeshis.

Ms. Bose then tries to cast doubt on the account of rape victim Ferdousi Priyabhashini, an educated woman and well-known sculptor. Ms. Bose's argument here is somewhat muddled, but it appears that she is claiming that Mrs. Priyabhashini was less of a rape victim and more of a willing participant.

Ms. Bose writes: "It is highly unusual for someone of her background to admit to having been a rape victim, especially in the conservative societies like Bangladesh." Ms. Bose goes on, "According to her own account, in 1971, Ferdousi Priyabhashini was a mature woman, a divorced mother of three, working for many years."

After a muddled discussion of Ms. Priyabhashini's account of rape by Pakistani soldiers, Ms. Bose concludes that there is an "inconsistency" in Ms. Priyabha-shini's account because she feared she would be killed by the freedom fighters. Ms. Bose declares: "Only those who were perceived to have willingly fraternised with the Pakistani regime were at risk of the wrath of freedom fighters, not victims of the regime." It appears Ms. Bose is asserting that since Ms. Priyabhashini feared for her life, she must have consented to having sex with Pakistani soldiers.

In the legal sense, rape is an act of sexual intercourse carried out "against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another." The calculated rationale of the act of war-time rape constitutes a political act, and an attack on the collective political identity of the group of females under attack, not necessarily on their individual identities. Rape during genocides is not exclusively an attack on the body -- it is an attack on the "body politic." Its primary goal is not to maim or kill a person (though that does, in fact, happen, in great numbers) but to control an entire socio-political process by crippling it.

Put another way, during genocides, rape has been used as a weapon of social control and cultural destruction, of devaluation and commodification.

Genocidal rape is not rape out of control, it is rape under control. All existing evidence points to the fact that the Pakistani military specifically targeted Bengali women and girls. This targeting was not a by-product of war, but a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. The historic Akayesu trial in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape constitutes an act of genocide, and an egregious violation of international law, when it is committed to destroy a targeted group. Given the scale and systematic way in which Bangladeshi women and girls were subjected to rape and sexual violence in 1971, even a rudimentary understanding of the effect of rape on the victim casts doubt on Ms. Bose's argument.

Ms. Bose goes on to try to cast doubt on the account of Akhtaruzzaman Mandal -- a freedom fighter who accompanied Indian soldiers as they took control of a Pakistani position. There, Mr. Mandal states, he saw the corpse of a Pakistani captain lying beside a dead Bengali woman who showed signs of rape. Mr. Mandal also states that four naked women were discovered locked in a building, and one of the women was six months pregnant. Another 16 women were also discovered locked in an adjacent high school, some showing signs of torture.

In discounting Mr. Mandal's account, Ms. Bose writes that she interviewed Pakistani officers who told her that the dead captain was "humane" and had only recently arrived at the location. She accuses Mr. Mandal of "character assassination of an officer who had died defending his country, and therefore, cannot speak in his own defence."

Ms. Bose, once again, is ready to accept the word of the Pakistani soldiers, the perpetrators of rape. However, there are many cases of rapists in this world who appear to be "humane" to those who know them.

In critiquing accounts of seven rape victims describes in Neelima Ibrahim's book Ami Birangona Bolchhi, Ms. Bose notes that four of the seven women were abducted by Bengalis and one by a Bihari before being handed over to the Pakistan army. Some of the women were raped by their initial abductors before being handed over to the Pakistan army, to be held in barracks and raped again. Ms. Bose neglects to mention that those who abducted the women were local collaborators, razakars, working with the Pakistani military. Nonetheless, she makes the bizarre observation that since the razakars had already raped the women, "for the majority of these women, therefore, even if the Pakistan army had done nothing, they would still be rape victims."

The point, of course, is that the Pakistani army had done something -- they had raped these women. Whether their initial abductors had also raped the women does not make the Pakistani army any less complicit in their rapes.

An apologia

In this latest paper Sarmila Bose tries mightily to diminish the atrocities committed by the Pakistan military in 1971. She, however, offers very little of substance to back up her assertion that the existing research and documentation of the 1971 genocide overestimates the death toll and the rapes. Her claim that, in her words, the "unsubstantiated and implausible" claims of hundreds of thousands of rape victims distracts attention from the "true rape victims" and "insult the true victims by trivialising their suffering" is itself an insult to the victims of rape in Bangladesh. The number of rape victims does not diminish the suffering of any individual rape victim; the vast number of rapes only demonstrates the heinous magnitude of the Pakistani campaign. If there is any insult, it is that there is no acknowledgement of all the victims of the Pakistan army's rapes; rather, there is an attempt to dismiss the experiences of rape victims by asserting that these rapes did not take place.

In her attempt at denial, Sarmila Bose relies on the Pakistan government's report on the atrocities and the accounts of Pakistani soldiers, the perpetrators of the genocide. She overlooks news reports from the time, eyewitness accounts, academic works, and case studies. Instead of addressing the issue of genocidal rape in 1971, Ms. Bose tries to deconstruct and discredit a handful of accounts of rape. She targets personal narratives, such as that of Ms. Priyabhashini's, to try to prove the victims were not raped. She does not engage the issue of the number of rapes in any substantial way, or address how her assertions of "several thousand rapes" can be reconciled with numbers put forward by international agencies or independent reports, nor does she engage the discussion of genocidal rape as a war strategy.

In the end, her paper is neither scholarly nor neutral. It is an apologia for the Pakistan army and for the genocide it perpetrated against the Bangladeshi people in 1971.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

1. Sarmila Bose's paper: "Losing the Victims: Problems of Using Women as Weapons in Recounting the Bangladesh War" can be found on the Internet at http://www.Epw. Org. in/uploads/articles/11060.pdf

2. An expanded version of this article can be found on the Internet at http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/2007/10/10/the-continuing-rape-of-bangladesh.

Artworks by PABLO

Mashuqur Rahman is a US-based member of the Drishtipat Writers' Collective.

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971: Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the sam...

2012-06-28T22:51:00.001-07:00

Bangladesh Liberation War 1971: Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the sam...: Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the same : Advocate Shahara Khatun, Minister for Home Affairs 15-August-1975 Home aff...

Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the same : Advocate Shahara Khatun, Minister for Home Affairs

2012-06-28T22:29:00.001-07:00

Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the same : Advocate Shahara Khatun, Minister for Home Affairs

: 15-August-1975

Home affairs minister Advocate Sahara Khatun said that the masterminds of the killing of Bangabandhu in 1975, the grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 21 and the attempt to smuggle 10 truckloads of arms in 2004 have been masterminded by the same group and followers of the same ideology. ‘The Pakistanis wanted to kill Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman several times during their reign so their associates killed him, along with most of his family, in independent Bangladesh,’ she said while addressing a roundtable on ‘The national mourning day, grenade attack on August 21 and Chittagong arms haul — in quest of the godfathers’ at Dhanmondi. The roundtable, chaired by Justice Golam Rabbani, was organized by the Heritage Foundation of Bangladesh. It was addressed by chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry Suranjit Sengupta, state minister for law Qamrul Islam, former state minister Abul Hassan Chowdhury, former ambassador Waliur Rahman, former secretary Syed Rezaul Hayat and Dr Syed Anwar Hossain, along with others. Farhad Hossain, associate professor of the English department of Mohammadpur Kendrio Biswabiddalaya College, and Mamun-ur-Rashid, senior reporter of the daily Janakantha, read out separate keynote papers at the round table. Sahara Khatun said that the national trauma has been partially cured by the execution of the five killers of Bangabandhu on January 27 this year. Notices have already been issued through Interpol to find the six fugitive killers and they must be brought back within the shortest possible time, she said, adding that the godfathers behind the killing of Bangabandhu are still active inside and outside the country. Those godfathers were behind the grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 21 August, 2004 because they wanted to destroy the leadership of Awami League to complete their earlier mission, said Sahara, adding that the same group tried to smuggled 10 truckloads of arms into the country for launching widespread destructive operations in Bangladesh. She said that the anti-liberation forces defeated in 1971 have been putting up obstructions to stop the trial of war criminals and urged all to be careful and united against these embittered militant forces. Suranjit Sengupta said that counter-revolutionary forces killed Bangabandhu in 1975, and later their leader General Zia tried to turn the country into a mini-Pakistan in the name of multi-party democracy. Terming the present time as very crucial, he called upon all the pro-liberation forces to be united against those godfathers and their associates who are still active in many ways and under many banners. State minister for law Qamrul Islam said that the killers of Bangabandhu had tried to demolish the spirit of the liberation war in order to reunite the country with Pakistan in line with the two-nation theory. Accusing General Zia of being involved in the killing of Bangabandhu, the state minister alleged that his wife Khaleda Zia had also tried to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and most of the senior Awami League leaders by launching the grenade attack on 21 August, 2004. Terming General Zia as an ‘intruder’ in the liberation war, he said that after the killing of Bangabandhu, Zia proved his anti-liberation stance by sheltering Bangabandhu’s killers, rehabilitating Razakars like Shah Aziz into politics and killing hundreds of freedom-fighters in the army like Colonel Abu Taher Bir Uttam. Accusing former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar of masterminding the grenade attack on 21 August, 2004, Qamrul said that the forces that killed Bangabandhu in 1975 and tried to smuggle arms through the CUFL’s jetty in Chittagong were the same.

THE GRENADE ATTACK ON SHEIKH HASINA: THE WHY AND HOW OF A NEUTRAL INVESTIGATION

The Attack and the Immediate Reaction

The grenade attack on Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on 21 August was undoubtedly aimed at assassination of Sheikh Hasina. Before she could leave the place of occurrence there were at least 9 grenade blasts and many rounds of shooting. A very determined and well-planned attack was launched and it was carried out in about a couple of minutes. Despite heavy, although less than normal, deployment of police personnel and strict security arrangements in the area the criminals fled the spot safely.

By the grace of Allah Sheikh Hasina escaped this dastardly attack as a number of Awami League leaders and workers laid down their lives, some in attempting to save her and others as innocent victims of the barbarous arrack. We bemoan the loss of Ivy Rahman, secretary of women’s affairs of Awami League, and 21 other dead souls. Hundreds of leaders and workers are still fighting for life and many have been permanently maimed. We pray for their recovery and solace.

Sheikh Rehana, youngest sister of Sheikh Hasina, daughter of father of nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib

In its immediate reaction Awami League termed it as a planned assassination attempt and unequivocally accused the government for its complicity in the attack. It was a repeat performance of 15 August 1975 when Bangabandhu and members of his family and other relations and staff were murdered most brutally. It was suspected that the same reactionary forces, the defeated rajakars and fundamentalists and the slaves of Pakistan, were once again back in their nefarious pursuit. Awami League also saw in this attack a culmination of the overall state of lawlessness, the rise of extremist groups and series of murders of AL leaders and bomb or grenade attacks on secular institutions and gatherings all over the country. All other opposition parties concurred with such an assessment. All the opposition forces considered it to be an attack on liberal traditions of the country, an attack on democracy and secularism.

Why did the Awami League accuse the government immediately following the grenade attack? From past experience it was suspected that investigation would be misdirected and it would be eyewash. The incident was so serious that it required a thorough scrutiny and it was felt that the government should be put on notice not to neglect the gravity of the issue.

The BNP, Extremist Jamat e Islam, HUJI, JMB want to kill Sheikh Hasina and Awami Leaders

The Background and the Attack of 21 August

Before the end of 2001 they annulled the law on security for Sheikh Hasina and her sister and withdrew the protection provided by the SSF. Because of constant threat on the lives of the only surviving children of the Father of the Nation such a law was enacted in 2001 prior to Sheikh Hasina’s completion of term as the Prime Minister. A General Diary entry made in a police station on 30 November 2001 recorded by Sohail Taj, newly elected MP of Kapasia, stated that in view of the threat on the lives of the members of the family of the Father of the Nation this annulment of the law would prompt conspiracy by evil terrorist forces to assassinate them and attempt murder. How prophetic was the perception of the young MP!

The most violent grenade attack on 21 August was the culmination of all these incidents and it happened in broad daylight in the presence of hundreds of security personnel and in a crowded public rally. A series of grenades were thrown and several rounds of gunfire followed it and the criminals escaped unharmed and undetected. The police it seemed helped them to flee by clubbing and tear gassing the milling crowd.

It was a widely publicized political protest gathering and numerous agencies and offices of the government monitored it. The various branches of the police, the different intelligence agencies, the civil administration, and the municipal authorities – no one had a clue and no one could identify a criminal not to speak of catching or injuring any. Even almost a month after the incident there is no suspect or no arrest of a possible culprit.

The after-thought of the ruling junta, now reported to have been indirectly legitimized by the farce of a judicial probe, about the unannounced change of venue for the rally is just false. True that permission was sought for Muktangon but used to the usual government tactics of frustrating all plans for protest rallies or gatherings at the last moment alternative arrangements had to be made for Bangabandhu Avenue, only a few steps away. This fascist government never allows any protest demonstration by anybody and tries to frustrate them through various devices such as last minute denial of police permission for location, attack by their cadres, and illegal police barricade and resort to lathi charge, teargas shells and arrests. Bangabandhu Avenue as the venue, however, was widely publicized through microphone announcements and advertisements in newspapers for a number of days. The fact that the venue was Bangabandhu Avenue was so public that electronic media took position in advance of the event at that place to cover the rally.

Let us look at the allegation of complicity of the government. The spread of violence, the growth of extremist groups and the record of investigation of the last three years may first be examined to find some clues. Then we can look at the developments since the attack.

Spread of Violence

Incidents of violence involving use of explosives began in 1999 and it was thought that the intention was destabilization of the polity as well as the economy of the country. A list of all these incidents is provided below. During AL period there were seven incidents of bomb blast, two in the last month of its term. Investigation on two incidents resulted in submission of charge sheet against accused persons and trials were about to begin. Help from FBI was also sought in one of these cases. In connection with two other incidents investigations led to arrests of a few suspects. On three other incidents, including the two latest ones, investigation was incomplete. Thus there is no truth in the allegation that these cases were not investigated properly. We shall soon find out how all the cases and investigations have been derailed or halted by Khaleda-Nizami junta.

<><><><> <><><><> <><><><>

Rise of fanatic extremism in Bangladesh

During BNP-Jamat rule of three years there has been 8 incidents of bomb blasts and 4 more of grenade throw. There are also several cases of seizure of cachet of arms and explosives. Investigations started by AL government were either halted or started afresh by the BNP-Jamat junta. In the Udichi case 24 persons were charge sheeted. BNP-Jamat government withdrew the charge against one of the main accused Tariqul Islam, alleged to have links with underground terrorist groups of south Bangladesh, and made him a Minister. In the Kotalipara case 15 persons were charge sheeted and one of the main accused Mufti Hannan was let off and reportedly he is abroad now. All action on the case stands stayed. The CPB case also a final report has closed the case. Action on three other cases has been held up on the plea of fresh investigation against new accused persons. Of the three incidents occurring during Caretaker regime two have already been closed by the junta by submitting final reports. It seems that the junta is following a policy of closing all cases submitting final reports that say that the case is true but criminals are not traceable. What can be a better way of shielding the criminals after fishing in troubled waters in wrong directions!

Fanatic extremism in Bangladesh by BNP JAMAT HUJI JMB

The junta’s position on all the cases is that the Awami League and its followers were responsible for the incidents and they tried unsuccessfully to get this conclusion certified by a judicial commission headed by a former Judge A Bari Sarkar. Incidentally the report had to be trashed because of the partisan views and extra-judicial inferences of Bari Sarkar. In another case of Gulshan Hotel Sylhet they arrested an expatriate Bengali Nunu Mia because of his AL connections and tortured him in custody but let him off after his MP from UK asked for proper investigation The junta in each case actually shields the culprits by pointing the accusing finger at AL leaders and workers. There are three important points to ponder over. First, all acts of violence were directed at secular and progressive institutions and Awami League or forces supporting Awami League. Second, none of the attacks targeted any BNP or Jamat rallies or their leaders and workers. Third, the frequency of such incidents increased from about the time of transfer of power by AL government, to be precise there have been 15 incidents since June 2001.

A tabular review of the major incidents of violence since 1999 is provided below:

Reportedly a large number of localized gangs of terrorists function under the patronage of leaders of the ruling junta. Notable among them are gangs associated with BNP leaders such as Minister Tariqul Islam MP of Jessore, Advisor to PM S Q Chowdhury MP of Chittagong, State Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar MP of Netrokona, State Minister Amanullah Aman MP of Dhaka, State Minister Ehsanul Huq Milan MP of Chandpur, Advisor to PM Barkatullah Bulu of Noakhali, State Minister Alamgir Kabir MP of Naogaon, State Minister Fazlur Rahman Patal MP of Natore, Deputy Minister Ruhul Quddus Dulu MP of Natore, Major (retd) Sayeed Iskandar MP of Noakhali, PM’s son Tareq Rahman of Bogra, Helaluzzaman Lalu MP of Bogra, Selim Reza Habib MP of Pabna, Nasiruddin Pintu MP of Dhaka, M Ilyas Ali MP of Sylhet, Shahidul Alam Talukdar MP of Patuakhali and Shahjahan Chowdhury MP of Chitta¬gong.

Another worrisome point is the stance taken by the junta on the trial of the heinous assassinations of 1975 – the assassination of Bangabandhu, his family and colleagues on 15 August and the murder of the four leaders of our Liberation war in jail on 3 November. The beneficiary of the assassination was undoubtedly General Ziaur Rahman. He richly rewarded the killers with diplomatic assignments. He also ensured indemnity for them by constitutionally protecting the unethical and illegal Indemnity Order of 1975. The Awami League government held the trial of the killers of 15 August 1975 under the normal law of the land. The sentencing in the trial was completed and it awaited Supreme Court ratification. Not only has this process been made impossible by this junta but they have also chosen to bestow favour on sentenced criminals. Major Pasha died as a fugitive from law who was sentenced to death. He has been reinstated after his death and his family given his pension. In the 3 November 1975 jail killing case, which had not concluded, the junta released a number of accused persons on bail and reinstated Major Khairuzzaman and also gave him promotion. Some of the killers when they enjoyed immunity set up an armed cadre called Freedom Party and it went into hiding during the assassination and jail killing trials. This cadre seems to have got a new lease of life as Khaleda-Nizami junta assumed power. It would not be wild to speculate that some of these killers, fugitive in the eyes of the law, may have been involved in the grenade attack. They had publicly threatened to kill Sheikh Hasina when they were active and interestingly live grenades were found within the covered walls of the jail soon after the grenade attack of 21 August. Let it not be forgotten the leader of the Freedom Party Col. Faruq is in the death row in the jail.

Growth of Extremism

The extremists groups started forming with financial patronage from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq since the success of the Counter Revolution in 1975. These sources have now gone dry. The Madrassas and camps for Indian insurgents in border areas of Chittagong, Hill Tracts and Sylhet acted as the early breeding ground for the extremists. Awami League government destroyed most training camps taking advantage of peace accord with the tribes of Hill Tracts. It is suspected that many of them have resurfaced again. Another breeding ground was the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar where Jamat with Saudi NGO Rabita remained active. Madrassa and Maktabs in 1974 were about 1500, today their number is about 21,000. Most of them are archaic institutions preaching superstition and fundamentalism. AL government targeted some extremist groups such as Harkatul Jehad and some Madrassas but these were lukewarm steps.

Under BNP-Jamat government the extremists’ groups have glory days, indeed. Most of them are closely associated with Jamat while some others have links with left turncoats now in BNP. They are identified and occasionally arrested or banned but secretly the ruling junta nurtures them. It is also noteworthy that prominent rightist leaders who are now in power publicly boast of fundamentalist revolution in Bangladesh and burial of secular traditions. Just a few cases are enumerated below:

On 8 March 1999 in a public meeting in Dhaka Fazlul Huq Amini (now an Alliance MP) thundered, “I am a follower of Osama bin Laden, I am a Taliban. Crores of Taliban are in this country. Hence like Afghanistan here also will be Taliban revolution.” There were others to beat the same drum. They have never recanted or revised their position.

Sohrab Khan a leader of Hijbut Towhid was arrested on 19 September 2001 in south Bangladesh. He was released and rearrested on 17 June 2002. This group is active in Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah, Barisal, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Tangail, Narayanganj, Sylhet and Chittagong. They not only preach violence but also attack villages and kills people. But there is no attempt to curb their activities.

On 20 May 2002 the police nabbed a group of eight extremist of Jamatul Mujahidin in Dinajpur, supposed to be linked to Kashmiri and Taliban extremists. They were enlarged on bail and soon afterwards another group of five was arrested in Bagerhat with a huge cachet of explosives, who admitted that they wanted to kill an Awami League leader. They were also released after a while. The bomb blast in Dinajpur on 13 February 2003 was also traced to this group but no arrests were made. Then followed the big haul in Chapai Nawabganj on 11 March 2003 of both arms and activists. But this Jamat is active in many districts such as Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Gaibandha, Joypurhat, Bogra, Naogaon, Chapai Nawabganj, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj & Bagerhat.

On 6 December 2002 Khatib of Baitul Mokarram Obaidul Huq, recalled from retirement by the junta, sermonized that celebration of the Bengali New Year’s Day is not for Muslims. He also makes outlandish remarks about destroying other countries and ostracizing Qadiyanis. He is a favourite of Khaleda Zia.

On 8 February 2003 one Kawsar Siddiqi held a press conference in Rajshahi announcing the emergence of Shahadat al Hikma organized in military formations with the avowed purpose of defying the core values of Bangladesh. This group claiming 36,000 trained volunteers preached straightforward sedition and the patronizing government had difficulty in holding them in check.

The month of May 2004 was full of stories on exploits of one Azizur Rahman alias Siddiqur Rahman better known as Bangla Bhai. With the support of police he created havoc in north Bangladesh in the name of punishing the so-called communist Sarbaharas. The Prime Minister ordered his arrest but the Jamat Minister Nizami announced that he was a mythical figure and the scoundrel is still functioning executing his extreme laws of brutal killing, arson and destruction.

All political murders in Khulna or Jessore are attributed to Janajuddaha, a clandestine extremist cadre. It is reported that a terrorist arrested by AL government by making a deal with some powerful leaders of the BNP-Jamat Alliance escaped captivity. Very soon his reincarnation meant the emergence of Janajuddha.

Progress in investigation of incidents of violence

What transpires is that terrorism is flourishing in the country and extremists groups are having a field day. There is no genuine attempt at arresting the present trend of exponential growth in violence and extremism. Investigations are not made seriously, cases are hushed up after trying unsuccessfully to blame the AL and the government really nurse and encourage the breakdown of law and order. Partly it is because of their past links and habits and partly it is because they have politicized and ruined the efficiency of the police and perhaps partly because of the utter incompetence of the junta.

Mrs. Ivy Rahman, wife of Honorable President of PR of Bangladesh, Language Movement Soldeir, Freedom Fighter Adv. Zillur Rahman, Senior Member of Presidium Bangladesh Awami League has killed by extremist jamat bnp huji

There have been a number of interceptions of smuggled arms such as at Kahalu in Bogra, at Uttara and Kuril in the outskirts of Dhaka and at CUFL jetty in Chittagong. In each case the investigation has been directed against AL workers or innocent low level labourers although BNP-Jamat activists are clearly involved. The moment an investigation points at ruling junta goons or leaders it comes to a grinding halt. In the Chittagong case the trial court has been asking searching questions about investiga¬tion details, preservation of evidence and charging the real culprits. Reportedly SQ Chowdhury MP’s vessels were carrying the explosives and they were being unloaded at a jetty under the control of the Jamat Minister Nizami. Incidentally SQ Chowdhury only a few days back threatened to take on Sheikh Hasina as he accused her of preventing his election as Secretary General of OIC.

There is no progress similarly in any investigation or any information on what is happening. They further allege that the ruling junta and terrorist groups under its patronage perpetrate all these acts. Terrorism comes naturally to BNP; its founder engaged the DGFI and NSI (units of law enforcing agencies) to organize terrorists among students and youth and this process was strengthened under Khaleda Zia’s earlier term as the Prime Minister. Jamat maintains arms cadre because their objective is assumption of state power by hook or by crook and they stand committed to jehad or religious war.

Government Performance after the Attack

Now let us direct our attention specifically to the grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina on 21 August at Bangabandhu Avenue. What is the perception of the government about this national tragedy? How have they reacted to it? What steps have the government taken since then? Have they been sincere in dealing with a national tragedy? Does their attitude or action inspire any trust and confidence in their ability to cope with the crisis?

Far from experiencing shock and grief on this tragic and somber occasion the government tried to throttle natural expression of condolence and grief. They beat up condolence processions and meetings all over the country. They even disgraced the last religious rites (i.e. JANAZA) of the dead people by deliberately delaying the delivery of dead bodies and possibly secreted some dead bodies as well. Janaza of respected national leader Ivy Rahman could not be held at her hometown because of violent resistance by BNP goons backed up by the police.

Khaleda Zia and others of the government issued statements condoling the death of the victims of the attack and sympathizing with their relations, friends and colleagues. But strangely although the entire nation thought so the ruling junta never acknowledged that it was an attempt on Sheikh Hasina’s life. They emphasized only the destabilizing impact of the attack. Khaleda Zia as per news reports even chided her coalition partners for condemning the attack on Sheikh Hasina. Then Khaleda Zia, apparently on second thought, staged a public relations gimmick of calling on Sheikh Hasina. The wish was expressed with great fanfare to the press before it was made to the victim. Is not it a little weird that the statement on the so-called desire for a meeting should be so drafted as to annoy Sheikh Hasina and then the fiasco about visiting her should be carefully orchestrated? Interestingly the press was given the statement well before it was faxed to Sheikh Hasina. Could not one surmise under the circumstances that the government thinks that if Hitler, Mussolini or Salazar could achieve so much without the existence of so powerful media and so destructive weapons of suppression, for them equipped with modern tools the sky is the limit for goebelian lies and high handed operations?

The government has taken some steps against petty employees for dereliction of duty in connection with the grenade attack. But just look at the people against whom action has been taken. 10 prison guards have been suspended because they could not explain how a grenade was found within the walled jail compound. For failure to give due importance to the news the Director General of BTV has been made an OSD and the Producer has been suspended. An intelligence failure of such magnitude and a security mess in the presence of hundreds of policemen on duty do not seem to have registered with the government. No action has been taken against the State Minister for Home, the Home Secretary, the Inspector General of Police, the Dhaka Police Commissioner or the Heads of Intelligence Agencies or Police Officers in charge of the event. Nor has anyone of them offered to resign. Not even anyone in charge of various services at the place of occurrence has been closed or transferred to facilitate unbiased investigation.

Then to hoodwink the people they set up a commission of enquiry with one Judge of questionable neutrality, who was even rejected by the Supreme Court lawyers association. Rejected by the political opposition and by the lawyers of the Supreme Court this Judge without any sense of honour went ahead with his enquiry. His publicity campaign before and after submitting his report only confirms his partisan nature and his habit of making unsubstantiated political statement. On the other hand the Supreme Court Bar association set up a commission of its own but the government is not giving them any quarters yet.

In order to further deceive the people they sought assistance from Interpol. Interpol is a federation of all police forces of the world and they can provide technical assistance to any member country by drawing on the pooled resources of the world. But they work as directed and supervised by the host government. Surely they make their own judgment but it is obviously based on what they get to know from their hosts. They also report to their hosts. This could be a good investigation but since the government draws the terms of reference, the government provides the facts and information and the government decides what to do with their views and reports this cannot by any stretch of imagination be a neutral investigation.

If a proper and neutral enquiry was really wanted or if a competent investigation was really desired there were ways to do it. In the first instance in this climate of mistrust and questionable credentials of the government the enquiry should have been finalized in consultation with the Opposition. The investigation should have been started forthwith with superintendence vested in some bipartisan authority. Many other ways could be thought of to give due importance to the catastrophe and ensure a national response.

Instead a normal investigation was launched and it could not be more incompetent or more inefficient. As per newspaper reports for five days the investigating team did not visit the place of occurrence nor did they inspect the bullet struck vehicle till much later. Then they collected exhibits from the place of occurrence from AL workers and volunteers who preserved them and it is now well known that they have not only contaminated them but also destroyed some of them. They removed the truck that was converted into the podium and handed it back to the owner, possibly to wipe off all useful evidence. They seized all videotapes on the incident and what is the guarantee that they have not doctored them? It is not known if they instantaneously interrogated any eye-witnesses or suspects except one of their own who was on security duty with Sheikh Hasina. It is reported that the Interpol teams were shocked by the appalling incompetence of the investigation.

A Proper and Neutral Enquiry & Investigation

Awami League from the very beginning has been asking for a thorough enquiry and unbiased and competent investigation. As stated above they have no trust in the government – neither on its capacity nor on its willingness. They believe that the government is a party to the conspiracy that was bold enough to stage the attack and vanish into thin air after making the partially failed attempt. They suggested that either the Commonwealth secretariat could handle the job or the UN could be invited to do it.

The Commonwealth secretariat does not have a police force or investigative arm at all. But it has the capacity to mount any operation when requested by a member country. They could get police forces of many members to form a team to undertake the assignment. In this case the investigation team would report to the C’wealth secretariat. They would define the terms of reference certainly in consultation with the parties in Bangladesh. They would ask for making available all information to the investigation team. The team would be responsible to them. It would not involve any surrender of sovereignty to a foreign country.

The other alternative is the United Nations. Interpol already has an agreement with the UN to assist the Office of Internal Oversight, which is its audit office. So there is the possibility of UN using the services of Interpol. But more germane than this is the mechanism set up on 28 September 2001 by resolution 1373 to deal with international terrorism. It has set up a Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council to implement the resolution. The Secretary General in his turn under the direction of the Committee has set up an Executive Directorate for the Counter-Terrorism Committee. This Directorate has a staff at its disposal mainly to collect information on efforts of member states to counter terrorism, to provide technical assistance to them to enhance their capacities and to ensure follow-up of the Committee’s decisions. This has in-house capacity and it can call on Interpol or national police agencies for support.

All governments are required to report on the counter terrorism measures and activities in their countries. In such reports legislation on counter-terrorism, machinery for executing the laws, and the actual actions and omissions are covered. In fact, a report on the state of counter-terrorism is provided. Bangladesh submitted its report for 2002 and the report for 2003 is due. The incident of 21 August is serious enough for the Counter-Terrorism Committee to get involved in its reporting and assessment. Bangladesh government should ask UN Counter-Terrorism Committee to undertake this investigation. This is the only way to avoid interventions by individual countries willing to help and seek multilateral intervention. No investigation of which the tainted government of Khaleda Zia is in charge has any credibility or acceptance.

Newsletter। Vol. 3, No. 17, October07, 2004

Bangladesh Awami League Publication

63 Years of Struggle and Achievements - Bangladesh Awami League

2012-06-28T22:11:00.001-07:00

63 Years of Struggle and Achievements - Bangladesh Awami League

http://albd.org

http://bangladeshawamileague.webs.com

http://worldawamileague.blogspot.com

http://bdawamileague.wordpress.com

http://bangladeshawamileague.blog.com

Bangladesh Awami League is the oldest and biggest political party of Bangladesh. It originated in the soil of the country and evolved with the evolving hopes and aspirations of the people living on the Padma- Meghna- Jamuna delta. It is the party that gave leadership in the glorious Liberation War. Awami league is one of those political parties in the world under whose leadership struggles were led and won, tearing apart the chains of domination and servitude. Awami League represents the mainstream of the progressive, non-communal, democratic and nationalist politics of Bangladesh.

This half-a-century- old party has a glorious of relentless and uncompromising struggle against autocracy and communalism, against political and economic domination. Its greatest achievement is the emancipation of the Bangalee people from the colonial rule of Pakistan. This was the party that both germinated and helped blossom the Bangalee nationalism: the independence won in 1971 is the undying monument of that grand success of Awami League as a political party. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, our Father of the Nation, gave the leadership to the people and the party that took us through the glorious War of Liberation. Since then, the party has worked tirelessly to combat autocracy and communalism, to nourish the non communal political tradition and to institutionalize democracy through establishing a constitutionally elected government.

Therefore, as a political party, Awami League can claim to have attained success in the overall development of the political history of the country, particularly in the process of building a nation-state for the Bangalee people. It is continuing in its role as the people- oriented political party with progressive and pragmatic political, social and economic agenda for the betterment of the lot of the toiling masses of the country.

We plan to elaborate on some of the glaring successes of Awami League in its long history of struggle over the last fifty years.

The inception of Awami League: the rise of opposition politics

It is known to all that, in 1940, Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq tabled the historic Resolution incorporating the idea of more than one states in the Indian subcontinent. According to this resolution, there was to be a separate state comprising the Bangla speaking regions of the sub continent. But the plan was completely sidetracked when India was divided in 1947 on the basis of Mr. Jinnah’s Two-nation Theory, and the artificial state of Pakistan came into being with two wings separated by a thousand miles. These two wings comprised two entirely different lands, languages and cultures. The establishment of Pakistan could not solve the problem of Bangalee nationality. On the contrary, the repressive policies of the Pakistani ruling elite against various nationalities brought the question of Bangalee’s separate nationhood to the forefront. In this backdrop, within 4 months and 20 days of the creation of Pakistan an opposition student’s organization named East Pakistan Student League was formed under the leadership of the then young and promising student leader, Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (January 4, 1948). On June 23, nest year, a meeting of the leaders and workers known to be the supporters of Hussain Shaheed suhrawardy was held at ‘Rose Garden’ of K. M. Das lane, Dhaka. There a new political party named Awami Muslim League was formed with Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani as chair, Shamsul Haq of Tangail as Secretary, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (then interned in Jail) as Joint Secretary and Yar Mohammad as Treasurer. It was the first oppsition party in the then East Bangal (later renamed East Pakistan). In a process of secularization, the word ‘Muslim’ was eventually dropped from the name of the party. Since its inception, Awami League has championed the cause of the political rights of the Bangalee people and fought relentlessly for the attainment of those rights. The present Bangladesh Awami League inherits the legacy of the party founded in 1949. Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is the present president of Bangladesh Awami League.

Language Movement and the Struggle for the Dignity of our Mother Tongue

The Bangalee people living on the Padma- Meghna- Jamuna delta first rose in revolt on the question of the state language of Pakistan. The language policy of the non-Bangalee rulers of Pakistan was not only undemocratic but also strongly biased against the various nationalities. They refused the claim of Bangla, the language of the majority people of Pakistan, to be one of the state languages alongside Urdu. Rather they trid to impose Urdu as the sole state language of Pakistan. The people of East Bengal statged their clamorous protest against this blatant injustice and a strong mass-movement originated on the question of state language. Both Awami League and its student wing Chhatra League evolved through this Language movement that stretched from 1948 till 1952. The leaders of these two parties played the dominant role in organizing this movement. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s name should be specially mentioned in this regard.

On March 11, 1948 he led a siege of the East Pakistan Secretariat and was arrested along with some of his colleagues. On March 21, 1948, in a meeting in the Racecourse of Dhaka (now Suhrawardy Garden), Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and the first Governor General of Pakistan declared unequivocally, “Urdo and only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan.” A number of young activists including Bangabandhu raised their voice of protest against this declaration. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the target of the wrath of the Muslim League government for a number of reasons which included his active participation in the language movement, his protest against the repressive measures taken by the Muslim League government, his leadership in the movement of the class four employees of Dhaka University etc. He was being thrown into Jail into Jail again and again. He was still in jail when the final phase of the Language movement started in 1952. He got himself transferred from the central jail to Dhaka Medical College on medical ground and established contacts with the leaders outside.

Through chits smuggled out of the hospital he gave directives to the leaders of the movement. On February 16, 1952, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and his close associate late Mohiuddin Ahmed went on hunger-strike-till-death. With a view to isolating them from the outside world, the government transferred them to Faridpur Jail. Bangabandhu was then Joint Secretary of Awami League. This hunger strike added a new dimension to the final phase of the Language Movement. The police opened fire on the demonstrasting student on February 21, 1952, killing several persons. This bloody incident opened a new chapter in the history of the Liberations struggle of the Bangalee nation.

It should be mentioned here that the movement for Bangla Language was being conducted under the aegus of a multi-party forum called the ‘All Party State Language Action Committee. It was formed on January 30, 1952, and Awami League played a leading role in its formation. On the streets, inside the prison, in the Constituent Assembly-everywhere Awami League and Bangabandhu fought relentlessly for the cause of mother tongue. In a speech given in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, Bangabandhu made this memorable comment: “It is not important whether we know any other language or not. We want to speak in Bangla in this House.” When new consperacies started being hatched against Bangla language and Bangalee culture in the sixties, Bangabandhu and his party organized a strong protest movement against those nefarious designs of the Ayub regime.

In 1974, after the Liberation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his speech in the UN in Bangla and thus for the first time glorified our language in the world arena. His daughter, the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina can justifiably claim the credit of glorifying Bangla once again: it was due to her initiative that UNESCO has declared (November 17, 1999) the 21st of February as the International Mother Language Day. From now on, February 21, the day of martyrdom for Bangla, will be celebrated all over the world every year in recognition of the right of the mother tongues of all speech communities of the world. The glorious sacrifice of the Bangalee nation has now acquired international recognition through this decision of UNESCO.

The Election of the United Front

In March 1954, an election of the last Pakistan Provincial Assembly was held, which is known as the United Front election. The opposition political parties, under the leadership of the mainstream party, Awami League formed the United Front to fight the electoral battle against the ruling Muslim League. It was formally inaugurated in December 1953 with Hussain Shaheed Sugrawardy, Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as Chief proponents. United Front chalked out a 21 point socio-economic programme as its election manifesto; it included the ‘State language issue’ and ‘the demand for the autonomy of East Bengal’ as two main points. The election symbol of the Front was ‘boat’. It had a landslide victory, winning 300 seats out of 309. The ruling Muslim League got only 9 seats. Out of the 237 muslim seats, United Front bagged 223 (Awami League topped the list among the members by winning 137 seats). This electoral win by United Front marked a watershed in the politics of East Pakistan. The ruling Muslim not only suffered a crushing defeat; it was virtually wiped out as a political force from East Bengal. For the Bangalees it was a revolution through ballot. But the United Front Government formed under the leadership of Fazlul Huq was short-lived : the central Gvoernment of Pakistan ousted it on the 56th day of its assumption of power. Bangalees were outraged and infuriated by this nefarious act on the part of the Pakistani ruling clique. The election of 1954 and its aftermath played an important role in the evolution of the concept of the separate Bangalee nationhood.

A Step towards secularization

Since the beginning, Awami League has been a secular democratic party. The term ‘Muslim’ was appended to the name of the party at the time of its foundation as a political tactic only. India was divided on the basis of a communal birurcation, and in 1949 it was really unthinkable to launch an opposition political party with a declared secularist agenda. Moreover, the separate election system for defferent religious communites was still operative in Pakistan. The founding fathers of Awami League, therefore, thought it opportune to hide their intentions under the name ‘Awami Muslim league’ for the time being. Meanwhile, through the cataclysmie events of the Language Movement, the United Front election of 1954 and the defeat of Muslim League in that election created a secular political atmosphere in East Bengal. A resolution in favour of ‘non-communal combined system was adopted (Murree Pact, 1955), for whice Awami League can claim the sole credit. In the backdrop of this, in the initiative of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then General Secretary of the Party, the three-day 3rd council meeting was held in Rupahal Cinema Hall of Dhaka on 21-23 October, 1953. In this council, a resolution regarding the change in the name of the party was adopted : the word ‘Muslim’ was dropped and the party was renamed ‘East Pakistan Awami League’. It was a historical and bold political decision, as a result of which the party became open to all irrespective of caste, creed and colour. The secular democratic character of the party was thus institutionalized and perfected.

Formation of government, split in the party, ouster from power

In August 1956, the governor of East Bengal called upon Awami League to form the provicial government. The Awami League government was formed next month with Ataur Rahman Khan, the leader of the Awami League Parliamentary Party, as the Chief Minister. His cabinet included Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu was entrusted with the important portfolio of the Ministry of Industries, commerce and Labour. Awami League stayed in power for about two years. Inspite of a series of conspiracies hatched by the central government, the Awami League government in East Bengal succeeded in taking some important steps in various fields. These included the tackling of serious problem of food-shortage, the release of the political prisoners, giving ‘test relief’ to the landless peasants, the granting of financial aid to the families of the Language Movement martyrs, the declaration of February 21 as a government holiday, the observance of Pahela Baiskh as Bangla New Year’s Day, the establishment of a Veterinary College in Mymensingh, of Fenchuganj Fertilizer Factory and Savar Dairy Farm and of Film Development Corporation (FDC) etc. Bangabandhu played a very strong role in all these.

We must note here a singular event that took place during the Awami League rule. Bangabandhu was concurrently holding the posts of the Party General Secretary and a cabinet minister. The party decided to segregate the leadership of the Organization and the ministry. Bangabandhu was given the choice of keeping any of the two posts. This problem arose in the case of a few others also. Bangabandhu unhesitatingly made his choice he left the ministry and opted for the post of the party secretary. This shows how much importance he laid upon the party organization. This rare incident proves the fact that Bangabandhu was the central force in Awami League and that his commitment to the party was above everything else. Incidentally, all the three vice-presidents of the party opted for ministership and left the party posts. Almost simultaneously with the formation of government in East Bengal by AL, the party under the leadership of Huseyn Shaheed Shhrawardy formed government of only 13 members of Awami League and was backed by the Republican Party. But it lasted only 13 months (12 September 1956-11 October 1957). Naturally, it was too short a tenure for the Suhrawardy government to do anything significant. But even within this period, the AL administration took a few bold steps. These include the adoption of ‘parity’ policy with a view to lessening the multiple disparities between the two wings of Pakistan; the holding of the session of Pakistan National Assembly in Dhaka (for the first time); the passing of an act in the assembly in favour of non-communal joint electorate system (October 14,1956); the establishment of Jute Marketing Corporation; taking steps to facilitate industrialization and expansion of trade and commerce in East Bengal; the establishment of IWTA for developing the river transport system and WAPDA for flood control, etc.

The civil and military bureaucracy had exerted its unhealthy influence on the administration since the very inception of the state of Pakistan. The AL government of Suhrawardy successfully curbed this influence. Moreover, with a view to basing the fledgling domocracy on a firm footing, Suhrawardy stressed the need for holding a general election in his very first address to the nation. These bold steps taken by the Shurawardy government, particularly its pledge to hold a general election unnerved the ruling clique and its frontsman President Iskander Mirza. It was at his behest that Republican Party (a party that Mirza himself had helped found) withdrew its support from Suhrawardy Ministry. Immediately after this President Iskander Mirza forced Suhrawardy to resign.

One big event for Awami League that took place during this period was the split in the party The two top leaders of AL, Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashni were having a difference of opinion for quite some time on the question of the foreign policy of Pakistan. Bhasani was in fovour of a non-aligned foreign policy, while Suhrawardy fovoured strong links with the powerful countries of the West, Particularly with Amirica. Suhrawardy’s stance was backed by a pragmatic assessment of the contemporary geo-political realities of South Asia. Most of the leaders of Awami League under the guidence of the Party General Secretary Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman supported Suhrawardy’s standpoint. On February 7-8, 1957, Bhasani hosted the special council meeting of AL at Kagmari Tangail. There the division of opinion came to the fore. The split in the party could be forestalled at Kagmari Council, but soon it became inevitable. Maulana Bhasani resigned his post of party President on March 18, 1957; within a few days, 9 out of the 37 members of the Working Committee resigned in support of Maulana Bhasani. On July 25-26, 1957, Bhasani called ‘Democratic Workers Conference’ at Rupmahal Cinema of Dhaka. There, a new political party named ‘National Awami Party’ was formed with Bhasani as its president. A few leftist organization joined NAP. In this time of crisis, the youthful General Secretary of AL took the reins of the party in his hands. Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish was made the party president in the place of Maulana Bhasani. Bangabandhu, at this juncture, left his post in the provincial ministry in order to devote his whole time to the reorganization of the party.

The Anti-Ayub Movement

On OCtober 7, 1958, President General Iskander Mirza proclaimed Martial Law in Pakistan. Within 20 days of this, he was ousted by the Army Chief General Ayub Khan in a counter coup. Ayub’s decade of autocratic rule started. The constitution was abrogated; the national and the provincial assemblies were dissolved; all political activities were prohibited. A large number of political leaders and activists including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were thrown into jail. By passing the notorious ‘EBDO’ Act, Ayub Khan declared 78 politicians including the popular leader H. S. Suhrawardy unfit for being candidates in elections. Measures were taken to stifle the voice of the press. Moreover, Ayub Khan introduced the so-called ‘Basic Democracy’ substituting direct elections with on ‘Electoral College’ with the ulterior purpose of perpetuating his regime. He arranged for the framing of a new Constitution (1952), which was based on the ‘Basic Democracy’ concept on a total reliance on the military bureaucracy.

In spite of all repressive measures, Awami League continued functioning, surreptitiously organising group meetings to devise ways and means of a possible movement against the Ayub Government. Soon an opportunity presented itself, when the government arrested H. S. Suhrawardy on June 30, 1962. The news of the arrest spread like wild fire and the students started strikes in educational institutions and came out to the streets. Anti-martial Law posters were put up on the city walls. In this backdrop, on February 7, 1962, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested and thrown into jail. The publication of the Report on Education Policy by Sharif Commission, which was constituted by Ayub Khan, added fuel to the fire. The entire student community demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Report terming it as anti-people and inimical to Bangla language and culture. On September 17 (1962), the police opened fire on the agitating public killing a number of people including a student named Babul. The day (September 17) has been observed as the ‘Education Day’ ever since. This incident gave rise to a student- upsurge forcing the government to withhold the Sharif Commission Report. Side by side with the student movement, attempts were made to initiate a political movement against Ayub Khan. On June 24, 1962, nine eminent political leaders of different parties issued a statement opposing the new constitution and calling for the restoration of democracy. This is known as ‘the statement of nine leaders’. Ataur Rahman Khan and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed the statement on behalf of Awami League. Within a short time, under the auspices of Awami League, a multi-party alliance nemed ‘National Democratic Front’ (NDF) was formed. Upon his release from prison, the leader of All Pakistan Awami League, H. S. Suhrawardy took the leadership of NDP. In 1962-63, NDF held a serious of Political rallies in both the wings of Pakistan and it created a widespread awakening among the people. Suhrawardy’s death in 1963, however, was an irreparable loss to NDF. Under the initiative of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the decision to revive Awami League was taken in a meeting at his residence in Dhanmondi Road no. 32.

The Presidential election of Pakistan was held on January 2, 1965, on the basis of Basic Democracy (the electoral college comprised only 80,000 voters). Despite the meagre chance of winning the election under such a situation, the opposition decided to fight it out jointly. With this end in view and under the auspices of Awami League a united front named Combined Opposition Party (COP) was formed on July 21, 1964. Miss Fatema Jinnah was nominated the candidate the candidate of COP for the Presidential polls. Although Miss Jinnah lost in the election, her election campaign created a lot of stir in the public. In Dhaka city, the provincial capital, Ayub Khan got fewer votes than Fatema Jinnah. One positive result that emerged from this election was that it exposed the hollowness and anti-people character of the so-called Basic Democracy system.

Communal riots of 1964

Awami League believes in communal harmony and peace. It has always fought against communalism. In 1964, a communal riot broke out between the Muslim and the Hindu communities in Dhaka, in Narayanganj Adamjee area and elsewhere. Things were compound when the Bangalees and the Beharis started clashing in several places. As the situation worsened, scores of people got killed; looting and arson went on in full scale. Hundreds of people were rendered homeless. The Ayub government was involved in this riot : their aim was to divert the anti-government sentiments of the people to a different issue. With a view to countering this communal riot a ‘Resistance Committee’ was formed under the aegis of Bangabandhu. The Committee published a pamphlet titiled “Stand up in Resistance, East Pakistan!” and distributed it among the public in hundreds and thousands. Bangabandhu incurred the displeasure of an angry Ayub for this and the government started a suit against him in the court.

The 6-point Programme: The ‘Megna Carta’ of the Bangalees’ national struggle

The 1965 Indo-Pak War came as an eye-opener for the Bangalees. During the War, East Bengal became completely isolated from the rest of the world. East Pakistanis were left to their fate, without military defence and security, while the Pakistani rulers kept themselves busy in defending the West Pakistani fronters. This exposed the extreme callousness of the Pakistani rulers to wards the Bangalee people. In this backdrop, soon after the end of the War, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formulated the historic 6-point programme. His purpose was to voice the just demands of the people of East Bengal for self determination and economic emancipation from the exploitative Pakistani colonial state-system. The six points were as follows :

Point 1:

Pakistan shall be a Federal State. There shall be parliamentary government formed by a legislature elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.

Point 2:

The federating units or the provinces shall deal with all affairs except foreign relations and defence.

Point 3:

There shall be two separate but easily convertible currencies for the two wings of Pakistan. Or, alternatively, there may by a single currenct with the proviso that the Federal Bank shall take adequate measures to stop the ciphoning of money from East Pakistan to West Pakistan.

Point 4:

The federating units or provinces shall reserve the right to levy taxes. The central government, of course, shall have some share of the tax proceeds.

Point 5:

Separate accounts shall be maintained for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings. The foreign exchange earned from foreign trade shall be under the control of the respective wings. The federating units shall be independent in conducting trades with foreign countries.

Point 6:

The federating provinces shall be able to raise para-militia or para-military forces for their own defences.

No sooner had the 6-point programme been published than Ayub Khan declared it ‘secessionisrt’ and styled its author Bangabandhu as the enemy number one of Pakistan. Ayub also threatened to use brute force to suppress this charter of demands. But Awami League and its leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman remained undaunted by such threats. Bangabandhu started a 3-month long mass-contact programme which took him to every nook and corner of Bangladesh. In the public meetings, Amidst thunderous slogans, he pesented the 6-point programme as demands to save our (Bangalees’) life. The government started arresting him now in Sylhet, now in Mymensing, or in Dhaka or in Narayanganj. Bangabandhu was arrested eight times in the first three months of the 6-point movement. By then Bangabandhu had become the President of Awami League. He was finally thrown into jail on May 8, 1966, a general strike was observed all over East Pakistan in support of the 6-point programme and for the release of Bangabandhu. The police fired in Tejgaon, Tongi and Narayanganj killing 13 people. This was followed by large-scale arrests of the leaders and followers of Awami League throughout the country. All these measures taken by the Ayub regime proved counter-productive. 6-point programme became the heartfelt demand of the common masses. Students put forWard their 11-point programme which complemented the 6-point charter of demands. Thus the political situation in East Pakistan became extremely volatile : the stage was set for a great explosion of popular anger through an all-out mass-movement against the Ayub rule.

The Agartala Conspiracy Case & the Mass-upsurge of 1969

President Ayub Khan of Pakistan took resort to a nefarious plan of quelling the growing disturbances caused by the 6-point programme. At his instance, in January 1968, a false case was instituted. This has become infamous in the history as the Agartala Conspiracy Case. 35 Bangalee civil and military officers were accused of treason and conspiracy against the state of Pakistan. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then under detention, was made the principal accused and the case itself was officially styled, “State versus Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Others.” President Ayub formed a special tribunal to try the accused. On june 19, 1968 the trial started in the Kurmitola cantonment of Dhaka. There was great turbulence in East Pakistan because of this case. The student community started a united movement against the Ayub regime on the basis of the 6-point programme of Bangabandhu and their own 11-point charter of demands. They defied the section 144 promulgated by the police, broke the barricades put by the East Pakistan Rifles and came out to the streets in thousands. People from all walks of life joined them. They chanted the slogans - “We’ll break the locks of the jail and free Sheikh Mujib”; “Your leader, my leader, Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Mujib’, etc. A mass-upsurge took place; the Pakistani rulers ordered shooting in different places. Law and order situation worsened to such an extent that the rebellious mob took control of all important points in the Dhaka city. During this movement, a lot of people were killed: Asad, a student leader of Dhaka University, Dr. Shamsuzzoha, a teacher of Rajshahi University and Matiur, a school student of Dhaka and Sg’t Zahurul Huq, an accused of the Agartala Conspiracy Case were among them. On February 22, Pakistan Government was forced to grant unconditional release to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and withdraw the ‘Agartala Conspiracy Case’. Next day, in a mammoth gathering in the then Race Course Maidan of Dhaka, Bangabandhu was accorded a grand reception. Amidst thunderous applause by the million of people gathered there. Sheikh Mujib was conferred the title ‘Bangabandhu’ (The Friend of Bengal). On March 25, 1969, Ayub Khan was forced to step down from power in shame and ignominy. The decade of his autocratic rule came to an end.

The elections of 1970: Awami League wins the historic mandate

General Yahya Khan succeeded Ayub Khan as President of Pakistan. He declared the general elections to be held next year. In December 1970, the general elections were held on the basis of universal adult franchise and a proportionate distribution of seats in terms of population between the two wings of Pakistan.

Awami League decided to fight these elections as a part of its struggle for self-determination for the Bangalee people. Its election manifesto was the 6-point programme; its election symbol was ‘boat’. During the election campaign, Bangabandhu termed the election was a referendum on the 6-point programme. During this time, on November 12, a devastating cyclone laid waste the whole of Southern Bengal, killing half a million people. The central government of Pakistan showed extreme callousness in the face of such a great human disaster. Awami League capitalized on this issue during the campaign. Awami League won a stunning victory in these elections, winning 160 out of 162 seats in East Pakistan. It bagged 72.57% of the total votes cast. AL won a similar landslide victory in the provincial Assembly elections also - it won 288 seats out of 300 and bagged 389% of total votes cast. Awami League won all the 7 women seats in the National Assembly and all the 10 women seats in the Provincial Assembly. The net result was, Awami League emerged as the single majority party in the Pakistan National Assembly with 167 seats out of a total of 313. On the other side, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party won 88 seats (all from the western wing) and emerged as the second largest Parliamentary group. These were the last general elections of the united Pakistan.

Non-Cooperation Movement, the 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu and the Preparations for the War of Liberation

Awami League’s attainment of single majority in the 1970 elections frightened the Pakistani rulers. They could well read the meaning of the AL victory-it meant that the Bangalee would now wield the state-power and frame a new constitution based on the 6-point programme. They would in no ay let such a thing happen. Therefore they started their conspiracy immediately after the results were out. Along with the military-civil bureaucracy, Mr. Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party joined in this palace-intrigue.

On January 3, 1971, Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu arranged an Oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected members of the National and the Provincial Assembly in the Race Course Maidan of Dhaka. The Awami league MPs took a solemn oath to frame the constitution of the country on the basis of the 6-point and the 11-point Programmes. Yahaya Khan had convened the opening session of the National Assembly on the 3rd of March; bt on the 1st of March, he postponed the session for an indefinite period. As the news of this postponement spread, the whole province reacted quicklywith anger and dismay. People came out to the streets; educational institutions and offices closed down. In protest of Yahaya’s declaration, Bangabandhu called hartal on March 2 and 3 in entire East Bengal. Curfew was clamped on the night of March 2, but the angry mobs broke the curfew. The army opened fire on the protesters killing and Wounding hundres. The whole province rose in protest like a roaring sea. This was the time of the uprise of a new nation whose undisputed leaders was Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Raman. The slogan ‘Joy Bangla’ (Victory of Bangladesh) became the War-cry of the multitudes. Along with ‘Joy Bangla’ people chanted, “Take up arms, you heroic Bangalees and liberate Bangladesh”, “Great leader of a great nation, Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Mujib’. On March 2, in a student-mass-gathering in front of Dhaka University Arts Building the new national flag of Bangladesh (a red sun on a green background and the map of ‘Bangladesh’ printed in yellow on the red disc) was hoisted. Events followed events in a quick succession. On March 3, in the presence of Bangabandhu, the ‘manifesto of the independent Bangladesh’ was read out in a mammoth public meeting at Paltan Maidan; Independent Bangladesh Central Student’s Action Committee was formed; an all-out non-cooperation movement against the Pakistani rulers started under the direct command of Bangabandhu, who became the virtual ruler of the province. He started issuing daily directives to be followed by the public. From March 2 to March 25, 1971 Sheikh Mujib became the wielder of all political and civil power in East Pakistan. All government and non-government offices, the Secretariat, autonomous bodies, the High court, the police, Radio and television, Banks and Insurance companies, Transport authorities-everybody defied the order of the Pakistan government and observed the directives issued by Bangabandhu from his Road no. 32, Dhanmondi residence. As Sheikh Mujib became the de facto head of goverment, his residence turned into something like No. 10 Downing Street of the British Prime Minister’s Official residence.

During this time, the most significant event took place on March 7, when Bangabandhu addressed a mammoth gathering, a virtual sea of human faces, in Race Course Maidan. About a million people gathered in that historic meeting on that fateful day in the annals of the Bangalee race. Bangabandhu’s address on that day laid the foundation-stone of the future independent Bangladesh as he gave a green signal for starting the War of Liberation by saying those inspiring poetic lines: “Our struggle this time is the struggle for freedom; our struggle this time is the struggle for independence”. The March 7 speech of Bangabandhu has been compared with the Geattysberg address of President Abraham Lincoln. In this short speech, Bangabandhu narrated the story of the 23 years of Pakistani exploitaton and the deprivation of the Bangalee people, explaned the points of conflicts with the Pakistani rulers, delcared an elaborate programme for the non-cooperaton movement, hinted at the possible strategy of resistance against the enemy attack. He said, “Building forts in each homestead. You must resist the enemy with whatever you have... Remember, we have a given a lot of blood, a lot more blood we shall give if need be, but we will liberate the people of this country, insha Allah... The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation; the struggle this time is the struggle for independence. Joy Bangla”.

This electrifying declaration by Bangabandhu was virtually the declaration of the independence of Bangladesh. But, of course, Bangabandhu showed the political sagacity of not making the declaration too openly; rather he chose to adopt a ‘wait and see’ policy in order to observe the next move of the Pakistani government. A UDI would be disastrous at the particular point time.

The Great War of Liberation and the Emergence of an Independent Bangladesh

The military junta of Yahya Khan started a dialogue with the leader of the majority party, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But it was actually an attempt to hoodwink the Bangalees-the junta was taking time t make their military preparations complete for a fnal crackdown. They smuggled in arms and ammunition from West Pakistan and a large number of army personne, too. On March 25, at midnight, they led a sudden attack on the unarmed Bangalees in Dhaka and other places. Thus began the so-called ‘Operation Searchlight’, the most heinous and barbarous genocide in the history of mankind. A little after the midnight in the early hours of March 26, 1971, Bangabandhu delcared the independence of Bangladesh. He sent a message containing the declaration of independence to his party leaders in Dhaka and Chittagong over the wireless of the then East Pakistan Rifles. The message read:

“The Pakistani Army has launched a sudden attack on the EPR Headquarters at Pilkhana and the Police Line at Rajarbagh and they have killd many people in the city. Street fights are going on in Dhaka and Chittagong. Our freedom fighters are viliantly fighting for liberating their motherland from the enemies. In the name of Almighty Allah, this is my appeal andorder to you-seek the assistance from the Police, the EPR, the Bengal Regiment and the Ansars to liberate the country. No compromise; the victory must be ours. Expel the last enemy from our sacred motherland. Reach this message to all Awami League leaders and workers and all other patriotic and freedom loving people. May Allah bless you. You Bangla.”

With the army crackdown on the 25th March night and the declaration of independence by Bangabandhu after the midnight, the resistance struggle and the armed War of Liberation of the Bangalees started all over the country. The junta arrested Bangabandhu frm his Dhanmondi Road No. 32 residence immediately after the declaration of independence. A few days later he was taken to West Pakistan. In order to give the declaration by Bangabandhu a constitutional basis and to conduct the War of Liberation under a central leadership, the Awami League leaders on behalf of the elected MNAs and MPAs issued a statement on April 10, 1971. This is known as ‘the constitutional declaration of independence’.

It read:

“According to the verdict given by the sovereign people of Bangladesh in favour of the elected representatives, we, the elected representatives, have formed the constituent Assembly on the bass of discussions among ourselves. Considering the establishment of equality, human dignity and social justice for the people of Bangladesh a sacred duty enjoined upon us, we do hereby declare the decision of transforming Bangladesh into a Sovereign People’s Republic and endorse the earlier declaration of independence by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Raman. This declaration of independence will be deemed effective from March 26, 1971.”

In the same declaration, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The provisional government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was formed (now famous as the Mujibnagar Government) withSyed Nazrul Islam as Vice-President (to act as President in the absence of Bangabandhu) and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister. On April 17, 1971, the ‘Mujibnagar government’ took oath of office in Baidyanattala of Meherpur district, in the presence of the elected representatives, Awami League leaders, freedom-fighters, local and foreign journalist and a large number of common people. The provisional government was formed in the following manner:

President & the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces : Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Acting President : Syed Nazrul Islam
Prime Minister : Tajuddn Ahmed
Minister of Foreign Affairs : Khandakar Mustaq Ahmed
Finance Minister : Caption M. Mansur Ali
Home Minister : A H M Kamaruzzaman

This provisional Government of Mujibnagar gave leadership to the War of Liberation in the name of Bangabandhu. After the formation of the provisional government, the Liberation War found a sound footing: The Mukti Bahini (Bangladesh freedom fighters) fast grew into a highly disciplined combative force. The freedom fighters started their guerrilla attacks on the enemies all over Bangladesh and within months succeeded in forcing the Pakistani soldiers to confine themselves in their cantonments. On December 3, Pakistan made a desperate attempt to break the impasse by leading an air attack on India. An all-out War between India and Pakistan Started. The Mukti Bahini and the Indian army formed the Allied Forces under a joint command. On December 6, 1971India accorded formal recognitiion to independent Bangladesh. The 13-day War came to an end on December 16, with the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers to the Joint Command of Bangladesh and India in the historic Race Course Maidan of Dhaka.

The Post-liberation period & the struggle for national reconstruction

After the Liberation, Bangabandhu and the Awami League government faced a formidable challenge in the sphere of national reconstruction. The whole country was ravaged by the non-month long bloody War of Liberation. Communication system, the posts and industries were completely in ruins. Schools and colleges, factories and food silos, the village hats and bazar were burnt to ashes by the marauding Pakistani soldiers. All these things had to be rebuilt. Then there was the staggering problem of the rehabilitation of the families of the martyr, of those who were maimed by the War and of the women raped and tortured by the Pak army. Ten million refugees, who had fled to India, were to be brought back and rehabilitated. The economy was in a shambles, foreign currency reserve was nil; the food silos were empty. The possibility of a famine causing death of millions was being forecast. Things were compounded by the drought of 1972, the devastating cyclone of 1973, the adverse effect of the worldwide recession owing to the Arab-Israeli War and the floods of 1974 etc. A greater threat to the political stability of the newborn country was posed by the conspiracies of the defeated anti-liberation quarters. A few pro-Chinese leftists started a nefarious campaign by setting jute godowns on fire, uprooting railway tracks, attacking police outposts and committing clandestine political murders. The government of Bangabandhu had to confront these challenges of reconstruction on a War footing.

On his return from his confinement in Pakistan on January 10, 1972, Bangabandhu devoted himself to this stupendous task of reconstruction. We can enumerate the successes of the Bangabandhu government of 3 years briefly as follows:

(a) Restoration of communication system within the shortest possible time; the clearing of mines at Chittagong and Chalna Ports;

(b) Rehabilitation of 10 million refugees who had taken shelter in India;

(d) Rehabilitation of narly 3 lakh women who were dishonoured during the War;

(e) Sending of disabled freedom-fighters abroad for treatment;

(f) Ensuring the return of the Indian forces within 3 months of the Liberation;

(g) Framing of one of the world’s best constitutions within 10 months;

(h) Introduction of Parliamentary system;

(i) Holding of general elections in 1973 (AL won 293 out of 300 seats);

(j) Reorganization of the Defence Forces;

(k) Appointment of the Kudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission for framing a scientific and secular education policy;

(l) The promulgation of a democratic ordinance for the universities (1973);

(m) Nationalization of 40 thousand primary schools;

(n) Winning of recognition by 140 nations of the world;

(o) Siging the Ganges-Water Sharing Treaty with India ensuring 44,000 cusecs of water for Bangladesh; etc, etc.
In 1974, when the anti-liberation forces accelerated their disruptive activities Bangladesh felt the necessity of uniting all the pro-Liberation forces of the country under one banner. With this end in view, he formed the Bangladesh Krishak-Sramik Awami League (24 January, 1975). He also declared the programme called the ‘Second Revolution’ in order to rivitalize the economy and to cement the national unity. As a result of this, the law and order situation improved considerably; the prices of essential commodities came down and political stability returned to the country.

At this critical juncture, when Bangladesh was striding forward under the able leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the cruelest assassination of history took place on August 15, 1975. The foundng architect of Bangladesh, Father of the Nation, the Glorious Leader of Liberation War, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with all the members of his family then in Dhaka and other leaders. Anti-Liberation and reactionary international forces with the help of their local henchmen staged this most brutal murder of all times.

The post - ’75 movement against autocracy and for the restoration of democracy

The anti-liberation reactionary and counter-revolutionary forces usurped the state-power through the assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975. For the subsequent 15 years, Bangladesh was ruled by the same forces sometimes under a civilian guise, sometimes under military dictatorship. Khandakar Mushtaq one of the chief conspirators behind the Bangabandhu killing ruled for a few months (1975) before being ousted by General Zia who ruled till 1981. After he was murdered in an abortive coup, Justice Sattar came to power (1981-82). General Ershad ousted the elected government of Sattar and assumed power in 1982 and continued his military rule upto 1990. In 1990, he was forced to stepdown through mass-upheaval which reminded many of the mass-upsurge of 1969 against Ayub Khan. During these 15 years, the successive rulers tried their utmost to obliterate the memories of Liberation War efface the name of Bangabandhu from the mind of the public, sheltered and even rewarded the killers of Bangabandhu, allowed the communal polities to operate freely. Coups, conspiracies, social anarchy and corruption held unhindered sway in the country. In the elections of 1991, Khaleda Zia’s Party BNP was voted to power. Like the earlier regimes, Khaleda Zia’s government pursued the same policies.

During these dark years of our national life, Awami League had the self imposed task of fighting for democratic rights of the people. After 15th August 1975, there came another cataclysmic event that struct Awami League very seriously and led to a temporary vaccum in the leadership: four national leader, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M. Mansur Ali and A.H.M. Kamaruzzaman were killed in Dhaka Central Jail by the same conspirators who had killed Bangabandhu.

A. The Rule of General Zia
After the killing of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975, Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed assumed power for a brief period. But General Ziaur Rahman, who was the chief beneficiary of the killing, could not keep himself behind the wings for long. On November 7, 1975, he assumed the power in a military coup de tat. Ruthless and ambitious as he was, he took some quick steps to consolidate his power: One such step was to get Colonel Taher, a valiant freedom fighter whom he had duped in order to ascend to power, summarily hanged (July 21, 1976), on a charge of treason. This Machiavelli of Bangladesh politics later put on the mask of democracy by starting a political party named Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) where he assembled all the anti-liberation and communal elements. He had to face at least 20 coup attempts. He crushed these attempts brutally by killing numberless freedom-fighter personnel in the army. It was Zia who first rewarded the self-confessed killers of Bangabandhu by giving them employment in foreign missions of Bangladesh. It was during his time that election-rigging and elections by blueprint started in Bangladesh. For example, on My 30, 1977 he held a referendum in which it was shown that 99% voters had taken parts. Zia got 98.88 of the vote cast in his favour. The general elections of February 18, 1979 was also a big hoax: as per the government blueprint, his BNP was shown to have won 207 seats out of 300. Zia ensured the two-thirds majority of his party in the parliament with an ulterior motive: he had a plan to change the secular provisions of the constitution and to regularize the various proclamations and regulations passed during his rule as a military dictator.

Awami League did not let anything to go unchallenged. Side by side with organizing street demonstrations, it also took part in the presidential and parliamentary polls during the Zia-Sattar regime (1978, 1979, 1981), sometimes singly, sometimes by forming alliances with other parties. Awami League took these polls as an opportunity to solidify the party organization. Despite the implementation of a blueprint and a large-scale government intervention in the polls, Zia could not prevent Awami League from becoming the main oppositiion party in the Jatya Sangshad. When General Zia brought the 5th Amendment Bill with a view to giving his military rule of 1975-79, Awami League opposed it vehemently both inside and outside the parliament. Awami League vociferously protested other anti-people and undemocratic moves taken by Zia government.

Towards the end of the Zia regime, Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina returned home from self-exile since the August tragedy. The day was May 17, 1981. Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana had left behind their parents, brothers and their wives and other relatives when they went abroad a few months before the August tragedy of 1975. When she returned home in 1981, his near and dear ones were no more. But she quickly got over the grief of losing her parents and dear ones like his little brother Russell and took the helm of Awami League. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to the reorganization of the party for starting a relentless and indomitable struggle for the restoration of democracy in the country and for the attainment of the rights of the people.

Awami League was reassured to find in her an intrepid, brilliant, dynamic leader was ready to go to any extent for the realization of the dreams of her father, the founder of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The party elected her its president and posited its confidence in her. she on her part soon became the rallying point of the toiling masses, the rightless, voiceless multitudes who were ophaned like herself at the death of Bangabandhu. Awami League was reinvigorated by her electrifyingly enthusiastic leadership and her far-reaching political visioin. On the day of her home-coming, it seemed as if Nature also mourned with her : it was a day that saw heavy downpour and thunderstorm in the city. In spite of the inclement weather, a million people turned out at the airport to receive the daughter of Bangabandhu with the warmth of their heart.

On May 30, 1981, General Ziaur Rahman died in an army putsch. Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar took office as President, but within less than a year he was forced to resign by General Ershad who staged an army conp on March 24, 1982. Thus the long autocratic rule of General Ershad started which lasted for nine long years.

B. The Rule of General Ershad

On March 26, the Independence Day, after only two days of Ershad’s assumption of power, Sheikh Hasina voiced her first protest against the autocratic rule in an address at the National Memorial at Savar. She vowed to restore democracy and pronounced a stern warning to Ershad. She made a similar pronouncement on January 21, 1983 to a huge gathering in front of Bangabandhu Bahaban in Road no. 32, Dhanmondi. The Ershad government quickly arrested her on charge of the violation of Martial Law and clamped a legal suit against her. Other political parties and their leaders kept silent during this time.

Sheikh Hasina felt the need for starting a concerted movement against Ershad’s military autocracy. With that end in view she formed a 15 party Alliance in early 1983. The Alliance adopted a 5-point action programme, the main concern of which was the immediate withdrawal of military rule and the return of the army to the barracks and the holding of the Jatiyo Sangshad elections before any other polls. Four years passed, during which time a number of hartals were observed, a national convention was held in Dhaka etc. But the autocratic rule of Ershad still there. On May 7, 1986, Ershad announced the date for Jatiyo Sangshad election. Awami League throught it opportune to fight the election unitedly with other parties and alliances; bujt a few of the parties withdrew themselves at the last moment. 8 parties under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina took part in the polls jointly. This 8-party Alliance got 97 seats out of 300, and 31.21% of the total vots cast. (Awami League won 76 seats on its own and 26.15% of the total votes). In reality, Awami League-led Alliance was on the verge of wianing a majority, but the results were hijacked by a media-coup. The declaration of elections results on the TV and the radio was suspended for 48 hours, during which time Ershad hijacked toe popular mandate.

This incident exposed the term nature of Ershad regime to the outside world. The accumulated hatred of the people against Ershad’s autocractic rule grew stronger as they understand that no free and fai9r polls was possible under the Ershad government. Accordingly, Awami League refrained form participating in the presidential election of 1986 and the Jatiyo Sangshad election of 1988 and the Jatiyo Sangshad election o 1988. As a result, these elections turned into a farce.

Awami League, however, continued to play its role as opposition party in the parliament right upto the dissolution of Jatiyo Sangshad in December 1987. Side by side with this, AL organized street demonstrations also. Awami League observed March 24, the day Ershad snatched power as ‘Black Day’. When the Ershad Government made a bid to have the ‘Zilla Parishad Bill’ (with a provision of representation of the army) passed in the Parliament, Awami League members led by Sheikh Hasina staged a walk out (12 July, 1987). There were angry protests outside the house also, which forced Ershad government to retreat.

The final months of 1987 saw a strong anti-Ershad movement. One November 10, Awami League observed the ‘Dhaka siege Day’. A worker of Awami Jubo League, Noror Hossain made himself a walking poster by having these slogans painted on his chest and back : ‘Let Democracy be free’ and ‘Down with autocracy’. The police targeted him and killed him with a gunshot. The Ershad government was frightened by the public anger and the next day interned Sheikh Hasina in her own house. Quite a few leaders and activists of Awami League and its constituent organizations courted arrest in this new phase of movement against Ershad. Being freed form house-arrest, Sheikh Hasina went to Chittagong on January 24, 1987 to address a public meeting in Laldighi Maidan of Chittagong. On the way the truck carrying Sheikh Hasina to the meeting venue came under a sudden attack : the police and the paramilitary forces fired indiscriminately killing about 50 people on the spot. The main target of this infamous ‘ January 24 Genocide’ was of course Sheikh Hasina herself. But by the grace of the Almighty her life was saved. The anti-Ershad movement rose to a crescendo during 1687. Ershad on his part, attempted a new strategy to quell the popular uprising : he dissolved the parliament and let loose a reign of terror on the opposition political parties. With a view to forming a ‘rubber stamp’ parliament, Ershad arranged for a farcical, voterless election on March 3, 1988. Almost all the parties boycotted the election. But Ershad managed to get the notorious ‘State Religion Bill’ passed by the 8th Amendment of the Constitution in this ‘rubber stamp’ parliament. This bill struck a blow at the non-communal, secular foundation of the state of Bangladesh and the spirit of the glorious Liberation War. Awami League raised its voice of protest against the bill and organized demonstration all over the country.

When all the concentred efforts made by various political parties, alliances and professional organizations came to naught, Sheikh Hasina came forward with a historic formula for Ershad’s resignation in a mammoth meeting at Panthapath of Dhaka on November 6, 19990. She suggested that Ershad should quit after handing over power to a neutral non-partisan person under the articles 51 and 55 of the Constitution (this formula was incorporated in the ‘Historic Formula of the Three Alliances of November19’. Consequently and at long last, Ershad was forced to declare resignation on December 4, 1990. On December 6, he handed over power to neutral caretaker government headed by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Thus the 9- year long autocratic rule of General Ershad came to an end. In the ouster of the autocratic government of Ershad, Awami League and its various organs played the most seminal role.

C. The Rule of Begum Khaleda Zia

The Jatiya Sangshad election of February 27, 1991 under the neutral caretaker government of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was a disheartening experience for Awami League. Everybody, both at home and abroad, had thought that Awami League would win an absolute majority and form the government. Even BNP anticipated their defeat, had started preparing for post-election agitation programmes. But the election results surprised all concerned. Awami League and its allies got more vote but less seats in the Sangshad (34.29% votes and 100 seats; AL by itself 88 seats); whereas BNP got less votes but won more seats (30.81% of votes and 140 seats).

The reasons were not far to seek. All the rightist political parties, the defeated forces of 1971, the beneficiaries of post-75 politics, the owners of black money, the collaborators of autorcracy and their foreign patrons joined their hands in order to defeat Awami League. They usd their black money and communal propaganda for the purpose. On top of that, BNP and Jama-ati-Islami made an electoral alliance and divided the seats among themselves. When all these conspiracies seemed to bear no results they took recourse to subtle rigging. The sure victory of Awami League was thus hijacked by BNP. It was a deep and far-reaching conspiracy of the reactionary quarters against Bangladesh Awami League, the undaunted champion of the hopes and aspiration of the people and the upholder of the spirit of democracy and Liberation War.

After the election, BNP formed the government with the assistance of Jamaat. Because of electoral understanding with BNP, Jamaat had managed to win 18 seats. BNP leader Khaleda Zia took oath of Office as prime Minister on March 19, 1991 and Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina took up the role of the opposition in the parliament. Even in this role, Awami League did not forget its electoral vows : it took initiative to introduce the parliamentary form of government which ultimately came into being through the 12th Amendment of the Constitution (August 6, 1991).

But the nation could not reap the fruits of parliamentary democracy for long. Despite being the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House in the Sangshad, Begum Khaleka Zia often absented here self from the parliament. The administration was shamelessly monopolised by the party in power; Khaleda Zia herself, her two sons, her siblings and other relatives, the ministers and the leaders-workers-supporters of BNP indulged in widespread corruption. They misappropriated thousands of crores of public money in order to enrich themselves overnight. The hoodlums of BNP were given arms with which they let loose a reign of terror all over the country. Murder, women and children abuse, acid throwing on girls became the order of the day. The hooligans of BNP-supported student organization turned every campus into a killing zone, the result being that all the university and colleges started to close down one by one. There was on unprecedented anarchy in the agriculture sector : 18 farmers were shot dead when they were demonstrating for fertilizers at a reasonable price. Similarly, 19, factory-workers were also killed. The people were soon disenchanted with the Khaleda government and thire disappointment and anger showed through the results of a by - election in Mirpur. Although the AL candidate won the poll, the Election Commission, at the behest of the BNP government, changed the results and declared the BNP candidate winner (February 3, 1993).

On January 30 1994, the BNP candidate for the Mayorship of Dhaka was defeated by the AL candidate. In order to take revenge for this electoral defeat, the BNP hooligans gunned down 7 innocent people at Lalbagh in the city. People from all walks of life protested this heinous ‘Lalbagh Murder’ and demanded the trial of the killers. Things started happening at a quick pace and the BNP government’s popularity fell to zero. On March 20, 1999, a by-election was held for the Sangshad seat of Magura-2, which was a watershed in the political history of the country. BNP resorted to all-out violence, rigging and irregularity in order to hijack the popular verdict clearly by the voters in favour of the AL candidate. It was such an unprrecedented and shameless rigging that the Election commission itself was redered helpless : the Chief Election Commission flew back to Dhaka, seemingly in dismayed and shocked by the stupendity of it.

It became crystal clear through the Magura polls that a free and fair election cannot be held under a party- government : the only solution is to hold all national elections under a neutral caretaker government. With this end in view, the opposition parties in the Sangshad under the leadership of sheikh Hasina tried to move a bill in the Sangshad. But it was impossible for BNP and Khaleda Zia to countenance such a proposal. On the contrary, Kahaleda Zia rejected the opposition demand disdainfully, and declared, “None but a mad man or a child is neutral.” After the Magura incident, all the political parties including AL chose to boycott all elections under the BNP government.

Sheikh Hasina, the President of Awami League and Leader of Opposition in the Parliament led a tumultous mass-movement on the issue of neutral carretaker government and the attainment of the people’s right to vote freely. The caretaker government issue soon became the national demand. As a part of the movement, Awami League and other opposition parties refrained from attending the sessions of the parliament (March 30-December 28, 1994) and finally, 146 MPs resigned their posts as members of Parliament. In spite of this, BNP tried to continue the Snagshad without the opposition parties for more than a year. Finally, on November 24, 1995, the BNP government dissolved the parliament and went for fresh polls. Thus Begum Khaleda Zia and her government had to quit before the expiry of its 5 year term.

A farcical election was held on February 15, 1996 with all the opposition political parties boycotting it. As the popular demand of holding the parliamentary polls under neutral caretaker government was turned down, the opposition decided to actively resist the polls. I the process of this resistance, 147 people were killed, thousands were wounded and more than 20 thousand AL workers were put behind the bars.

In the midst of nationwide protests, hartals and demonstrations, the illegally formed parliament was called to session. It lasted for only 4 working days. As the political situation of the country became extremely explosive, Khaleda Zia had to concede the demand for neutral caretaker government and had to pass a bill to that effect through the 13th Amendment of the Constitution (March 26, 1996). But the protesting public were not content in having anything short of the resignation of the Khaleda Zia government. Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the masses, called for an all-out movement for the cancellation of the February 15 election, resignation of Begum Zia government and the holding of a fresh parliamentary election under a neutral caretaker government. At the order of Sheikh Hasina, a countrywide non-stop non-cooperation movement started from March 9, 1996, Everything including the seat-ports of Chittagong and Chalna came to a stand still. She ordered the establishment of the ‘Janatar Mancha’ (Peoples Dias) in front of the National Press Club, Where people form all walks of life, including the officer and officials of the Secretariat assembled to show their allegiance to Sheikh Hasina and their solidarity with the on-going movement. In the face of the anti-Khaleda mass-upsurge, Bugum Zia declared her resignation from power (March 30, 1996). The President appointed Justice Mohammad Habibur Rahman, fromer Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as the head of the caretaker government.

Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001) and its success

On June 12, 1996 parliamentary election was held under a neutral caretaker government led by Justice Mohammad Habibur Rahman. Bangladehs Awami League under the leadership of sheikh Hasina part in the election with ‘boat’ as the election wymbol and won majority seats. Sheikh Hasina took the oath of office as Prime Minister on June 23. Awami League’s was undoubtedly a significant event in our national history. since the assassination of Bangalbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, the anti-Liberation and anti-people forces had spread their web of deceit and subterfuge, of conspirecy and subversion, in order to forestall Awami League’s return to power. They had tried to bring back Pakistani ideals in every sphere of national life. But Awami League’s much awaited and spectacular come-back put an end to all these nefarious designs and paved the way for the restoration of the spirit of Liberation War, democratization, alleviation of poverty, illiteracy and terrorism, efffective prevention of torture, upon women and poor and the distressed. Moreover, this come-back opened up new vistas of possibilities for the restoration of the image of Bangladesh in the eyes of the world-community. It will also-help the struggle for establishing a modern, affluent, self-reliant Bangladesh suited to face the challenge of the 21st century. Indeed, a new and an altogether different phase of the national struggle has started with Sheikh Hasina’s assumption of office.

The Awami League government has already achieved a spectacular success in various spheres. Democracy has been given an institutional shape; the Sangshad has been made the centre of all activities; the transparency and accountability of the government have been ensured. Bangladesh under the sagacious leadership of Sheikh Hasina has signed a 30-year treaty with India to ensure a fair share of Ganges water for Bangladesh. The internecine, fratricidal conflicts in Chittagong Hill Tracts have come to an end following the signing of a peace treaty with the tribals there. Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina repealed the infamous ‘Indemnity Act’ and paved the way for the trial of the killers of the Father of the Nation, which was a clear realisation of its election pledge. The government of Sheikh Hasina has taken a number of epoch-making steps for the amelioration of poverty and for bringing smile to the face of the toiling millions. As a result of these. the country is now self-sufficient in food. Prices of necessary commodities have not risen during the past five years. The AL government has adopted a multilateral programme for removing poverty. This includes the pension schemes for the aged people, the divorced women and the widows, monthly grant of Taka 300 for disadvantaged freedom fighters; Employment Bank for the jobless, ‘Asrayan Prakalpa’ (a housing scheme for the houseless) and ‘Santinibash’ (homes for the aged) at every district headquarters. The deft way in which the government managed the devastating flood of 1998 also won the praise of the world community. The average per head income has resen from 280 US dollars to 386 US dollars. Literacy rate has risen from 44% to 62%. New industries and factories have been established a new export processing zones started functioning. There has been an increase in foreign investment also. In the field of games, Bangladesh has acquired ‘test status’. In the cultural arena also, a new era has begun under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government.

In the international arena, Bangladesh has achieved several successes. The glorious Language Movement of 21st February has won recognition as International Mother Language Day. Among other notable achievements are Bangladesh’s election as a member of the UN security Council, the exchange of visit by the heads of government of Bangladesh and the USA, Bangladesh’s election as the leader of the D-8 group, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s winning of the UNESCO Peace Prize and The Ceres Prize awarded by FAO. Bangladesh has acquired a place of honour in the comity of nations. Bangladesh is now known by its new image as a self-reliant nation with infinite prospects.

The governments that preceded the AL government of Sheikh Hasina had no definite policy in running the country. They believed only in looting and plundering the national wealth. They misruled the country with the assistance of the anti-Liberation elements on an ad hoc basis. The AL government reversed the situation: from the very start it adopted realistic and pragmatic policies for an over-all development of the country. National Education policy, Industrial policy, Agriculture policy, Water policy, Forest and conservation policy, Investment policy and Health policy are some examples of the clear-sighted and progressive planning by the AL government.

Conclusion

Bangladesh Awami League is not merely a political party; it is a half-a century-old political institution also. The fate of Bangladesh and the Bangalee nation has been inextricably intertwined with this party. It has always upheld and fought for the democratic ideals and stood by the side of the toiling masses.

Our great leader, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did his politics all for the betterment of the lot of the poor masses of this country.

After his sad death, the mantle has fallen on his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, who is carrying on the same fight as her father.

Who is the Greatest Bengali?

2012-06-16T07:29:00.001-07:00

Who is the greatest Bengali?

By Anwer Mooraj

Published in DAWN, April 26, 2004

The BBC seems to be at it again. Fresh from their excursion in determining the greatest Englishman, where science eventually triumphed over politics, they have now turned their attention to a people who have always had an embarrassment of riches. But this time their efforts have hit a hidden reef and resulted in a storm of protest. The BBC Bangla Service recently conducted an opinion survey of its listeners to determine the "Greatest Bengali of All Time". The survey, spread across 12 million listeners in Bangladesh, West Bengal and the Bengali diaspora, took 20 days to compile, and concluded on April 14, the Bengali New Year's Day, after a thousand listeners had responded through email and the post.

The result of the survey showed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as topping the list. This was not unexpected, for politics inevitably dominates over culture in this part of the world. The urban middle class in Bangladesh is, however, sharply divided over the survey which the opposition Awami League regards as "the verdict of history". The survey has nevertheless been roundly condemned by opponents of the Awami League who see the BBC as a partisan villain. And the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, which is the student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has rejected the survey outright.

What has astonished a number of critics in Kolkata as well as Dhaka, is that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has edged out people like Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize winner, Kazi Nazrul Islam, the rebel poet, Subhas Chandra Bose, who led an army of Indian nationalists against the British Raj, Jagadish Chandra Basu, the great scientist, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, who was always a thorn in the side of the West Pakistan establishment, and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the brilliant lawyer, who went on to become prime minister of Pakistan.

However, for a non-Bengali like myself, who was weaned on the romantic fatalism of Marcel Carne and nurtured on the exuberant surrealism of Luis Bunuel, I was truly astounded to learn that in the survey, one of Calcutta's greatest sons, who happens to be one of the world's greatest film directors, did not even figure as an "also ran". I am referring, of course, to the late Satyajit Ray, who is frequently mentioned in the same context as Renoir, Kurosawa and Bergman, and is frequently compared to Pagnol, Cocteau and de Sica. Ray certainly has his admirers in Karachi, and I am sure if the lads from the BBC had, in their quest, ventured to this neck of the woods, they would have acquired a different set of preferences.

In fact, on July 20, 1992, Hameed Haroon, one of the city's cultural giants, ably assisted by Rehana Saigol, paid tribute to the great Satyajit Ray. In a 60-minute illustrated lecture at the PACC, he presented a series of vignettes culled from some of the master's more accessible works, interspersed by crisp, informative and intelligent asides.

Unlike Hameed Haroon, I never had the honour of meeting Satyajit Ray. But I understand from reading Andrew Robinson's excellent biography of the great director (which was more exhaustive than Marie Seton's earlier work) that the latter was an extremely humane person, humble to a fault - a person who was sensitive to the needs of others and who always contrived to suggest a life of unruffled serenity.

What made him different from other directors of the western and eastern persuasion, was that he was equally at home in the West and the East, whether he was chatting with hikers rambling over a pub lunch, or in his native Calcutta where in a matter of seconds a boiling sky could discharge a wilderness of electricity and produce a tropical downpour of such intensity that life was paralysed for hours.

Though he was not averse to operating out of a bed-sitter in Paddington, Ray worked best at home in his study ensconced in his favourite chair — an intermittently functioning telephone within easy reach.

He liked to recline in loose clothes with his bare feet resting on a convenient low table and work at the red cloth-bound shooting notebooks that contained literally every aspect of a film.

There was no air conditioning in the study, and sometimes in the sweltering heat of summer he had to close the louvered windows to shut out the outside world.

The walls of his study were fringed by bookcases crammed with books and magazines. In a corner a bust of Beethoven stood on a piano under a photograph of Sergei Eisenstein (director of Battleship Potemkin) and in a full cabinet, almost spilling out its properties, were cassettes, records and tapes of western classical music where Mozart and Bach enjoyed a special position.

Ray often compared the works of Eisenstein to the music of Bach and the films of Pudovkin to the music of Beethoven. Both directors worked with unwavering discipline over a wide range of dynamics and colour.

There was no image of Tagore who had influenced three generations of the Ray family. When Andrew Robinson casually asked Ray why he didn't display a bust of Tagore, the master chuckled and said "Such a cliché."

Ray, an advertising man, an illustrator, an author, a critic and a filmmaker directed over 30 films since 1955 and always with a telling economy of means. He had an almost dilettante quasi-professional disdain concerning money.

He distilled the urban as well as the rural landscape with equal felicity, whether involved in a pacy drama about a child from a random cross section of metropolitan low life, or while painting a grimly authentic canvas of squalour and destitution in the City of Dreadful Night.

Ray experimented with mood, period and milieu more than any other director and won almost every major prize, sometimes more than once. In 1992, he was awarded an Oscar for a lifetime of achievement in films — a presentation which was made in a Calcutta hospital shortly before his death.

Thirty years earlier, in 1960, the first American homage to Ray was presented at the University of California in Berkeley by Albert Johnson. This Ray programme included the US premiers of The Music Room and The Goddess.

It was also in 1960 that the Apu trilogy was taken up by an American distributor, and the United States was introduced to one of the most prodigious personalities in the history of the cinema.

Akira Kurosawa, director of the Japanese classic Rashomon and The Seven Samurai, described Ray as a giant of the movie industry. And Tim Radford of the Guardian who after seeing The Chess Players, a film about two civilizations, one effete and ineffectual, the other vigorous and malignant, wrote: "Satyajit Ray seems to be able to achieve more and more with less and less".

Some of the other reviewers were not quite so generous. After the screening of Devi one London reviewer wrote: "The story itself is dauntingly alien." Another felt "it was an exquisite bore. The action is as remote as one of those Indian temple friezes depicting the gods about their bloody business."

The reviewer of The Times was a little less patronizing. "The film is more a matter of uncluttered story telling than of atmosphere and the loving accumulation of detail." And Bosley Crowther, doyen of the New York critics, was quite unmoved on the occasion of the US premiere of Pather Panchali (Ballad of the Road), and found the film amateurish in the extreme.

Ray had a lot to say about critics particularly the British and the Americans who insisted on commenting critically on the world of other people without familiarizing themselves with the latter's cultural and historical background.

Once, after reading a particularly unintelligent review of Devi by an English writer, Ray pointed out that in western religious thinking dominated by the Jewish and Christian traditions, God is always represented in male form — whereas in India the female nature of God is also celebrated.

When the citizens of Kolkata and Dhaka read this epistle, one hopes they will give this great human being an honoured place among the other great Bengalis. He certainly deserves every consideration.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib

BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN

The life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the saga of a great leader turning peoplepower into an armed struggle that liberated a nation and created the world’s ninth most populous state. The birth of the sovereign state of Bangladesh in December 1971, after a heroic war of nine months against the Pakistani colonial rule, was the triumph of his faith in the destiny of his people. Sheikh Mujib, endearingly called Bangabandhu or friend of Bangladesh, rose from the people, molded their hopes and aspirations into a dream and staked his life in the long battle for making it real. He was a true democrat, and he employed in his struggle for securing justice and fairplay for the Bengalees only democratic and constitutional weapons until the last moment. It is no accident of history that in an age of military coup d’etat and ‘strong men’, Sheikh Mujib attained power through elections and mass movement and that in an age of decline of democracy he firmly established democracy in one of the least developed countries of Asia.

Sheikh Mujib was born on 17 March 1920 in a middle class family at Tungipara in Gopalganj district. Standing 5 feet 11 inches, he was taller than the average Bengalee. Nothing pleased him more than being close to the masses, knowing their joys and sorrows and being part of their travails and triumphs. He spoke their soft language but in articulating their sentiments his voice was powerful and resonant. He had not been educated abroad, nor did he learn the art of hiding feelings behind sophistry; yet he was loved as much by the urban educated as the common masses of the villages. He inspired the intelligentsia and the working class alike. He did not, however, climb to leadership overnight.

Early Political Life: His political life began as an humble worker while he was still a student. He was fortunate to come in early contact with such towering personalities as Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and A K Fazlul Huq, both charismatic Chief Ministers of undivided Bengal. Adolescent Mujib grew up under the gathering gloom of stormy politics as the aging British raj in India was falling apart and the Second World War was violently rocking the continents. He witnessed the ravages of the war and the stark realities of the great famine of 1943 in which about five million people lost their lives. The tragic plight of the people under colonial rule turned young Mujib into a rebel.

This was also the time when he saw the legendary revolutionary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose challenging the British raj. Also about this time he came to know the works of Bernard Shaw, Karl Marx, Rabindranath Tagore and rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Soon after the partition of India in 1947 it was felt that the creation of Pakistan with its two wings separated by a physical distance of about 1,200 miles was a geographical monstrosity. The economic, political, cultural and linguistic characters of the two wings were also different. Keeping the two wings together under the forced bonds of a single state structure in the name of religious nationalism would merely result in a rigid political control and economic exploitation of the eastern wing by the all-powerful western wing which controlled the country’s capital and its economic and military might.

Early Movement: In 1948 a movement was initiated to make Bengali one of the state languages of Pakistan. This can be termed the first stirrings of the movement for an independent Bangladesh. The demand for cultural freedom gradually led to the demand for national independence. During that language movement Sheikh Mujib was arrested and sent to jail. During the blood-drenched language movement in 1952 he was again arrested and this time he provided inspiring leadership of the movement from inside the jail.

In 1954 Sheikh Mujib was elected a member of the then East Pakistan Assembly. He joined A K Fazlul Huq’s United Front government as the youngest minister. The ruling clique of Pakistan soon dissolved this government and Shiekh Mujib was once again thrown into prison. In 1955 he was elected a member of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly and was again made a minister when the Awami League formed the provincial government in 1956. Soon after General Ayub Khan staged a military coup in Pakistan in 1958, Sheikh Mujib was arrested once again and a number of cases were instituted against him. He was released after 14 months in prison but was re-arrested in February 1962. In fact, he spent the best part of his youth behind the prison bars.

Supreme Test: March 7, 1971 was a day of supreme test in his life. Nearly two million freedom loving people assembled at the Ramna Race Course Maidan, later renamed Suhrawardy Uddyan, on that day to hear their leader’s command for the battle for liberation. The Pakistani military junta was also waiting to trap him and to shoot down the people on the plea of suppressing a revolt against the state. Sheikh Mujib spoke in a thundering voice but in a masterly well-calculated restrained language. His historic declaration in the meeting was: "Our struggle this time is for freedom. Our struggle this time is for independence." To deny the Pakistani military an excuse for a crackdown, he took care to put forward proposals for a solution of the crisis in a constitutional way and kept the door open for negotiations.

The crackdown, however, did come on March 25 when the junta arrested Sheikh Mujib for the last time and whisked him away to West Pakistan for confinement for the entire duration of the liberation war. In the name of suppressing a rebellion the Pakistani military let loose hell on the unarmed civilians throughout Bangladesh and perpetrated a genocide killing no less than three million men, women and children, raping women in hundreds of thousands and destroying property worth billions of taka. Before their ignominious defeat and surrender they, with the help of their local collaborators, killed a large number of intellectuals, university professors, writers, doctors, journalists, engineers and eminent persons of other professions. In pursuing a scorch-earth policy they virtually destroyed the whole of the country’s infrastructure. But they could not destroy the indomitable spirit of the freedom fighters nor could they silence the thundering voice of the leader. Tape recordings of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s 7th March speech kept on inspiring his followers throughout the war.

Return and Reconstruction: Forced by international pressure and the imperatives of its own domestic predicament, Pakistan was obliged to release Sheikh Mujib from its jail soon after the liberation of Bangladesh and on 10 January 1972 the great leader returned to his beloved land and his admiring nation.

But as he saw the plight of the country his heart bled and he knew that there would be no moment of rest for him. Almost the entire nation including about ten million people returning from their refuge in India had to be rehabilitated, the shattered economy needed to be put back on the rail, the infrastructure had to be rebuilt, millions had to be saved from starvation and law and order had to be restored. Simultaneously, a new constitution had to be framed, a new parliament had to be elected and democratic institutions had to be put in place. Any ordinary mortal would break down under the pressure of such formidable tasks that needed to be addressed on top priority basis. Although simple at heart, Sheikh Mujib was a man of cool nerves and of great strength of mind. Under his charismatic leadership the country soon began moving on to the road to progress and the people found their long-cherished hopes and aspirations being gradually realized.

Assassination: But at this critical juncture, his life was cut short by a group of anti-liberation reactionary forces who in a pre-dawn move on 15 August 1975 not only assassinated him but 23 of his family members and close associates. Even his 10 year old son Russel’s life was not spared by the assassins. The only survivors were his two daughters, Sheikh Hasina - now the country’s Prime Minister - and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, who were then away on a visit to Germany. In killing the father of the Nation, the conspirators ended a most glorious chapter in the history of Bangladesh but they could not end the great leader’s finest legacy- the rejuvenated Bengali nation. In a fitting tribute to his revered memory, the present government has declared August 15 as the national mourning day. On this day every year the people would be paying homage to the memory of a man who became a legend in his won lifetime. Bangabandhu lives in the heart of his people. Bangladesh and Bangabandhu are one and inseparable. Bangladesh was Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s vision and he fought and died for it.

Why Bengali needs separation from Pakistan?

2012-06-16T06:49:00.001-07:00

Why Bengali needs separation from Pakistan? In August 1947, the Partition of India gave birth to two new states named Pakistan and India. Areas containing the Muslim-majority became Pakistan while areas with Hindu majority states became India. The new nation of Pakistan included two geographically and culturally separate areas in the east and the west of India. The western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) termed West Pakistan and the eastern zone (modern-day Bangladesh) was initially termed East Bengal and later,

East Pakistan. It was widely perceived that West Pakistan dominated politically and exploited the East economically, leading to many grievances.

On the 25 March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in East Pakistan was met by brutal[8] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.

The violent crackdown by West Pakistan forces led to East Pakistan declaring its independence as the state of Bangladesh and to the start of civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the eastern provinces of India Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organizing the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini.

East Pakistani grievances

Economic exploitation

West Pakistan (consisting of four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province) dominated the divided country politically and received more money from the common budget than the more populous East.

Year Spending on West Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Spending on East Pakistan (in crore Rupees) Amount spent on East as percentage of West

1950–55 1,129 524 46.4

1955–60 1,655 524 31.7

1960–65 3,355 1,404 41.8

1965–70 5,195 2,141 41.2

Total 11,334 4,593 40.5

Source: Reports of the Advisory Panels for the Fourth Five Year Plan 1970-75, Vol. I, published by the planning commission of Pakistan (Quick reference: crore = 107, or 10 million)

Political differences

Although East Pakistan accounted for a majority of the country’s population (14), political power remained firmly in the hands of West Pakistanis, specifically the Punjabis. Since a straightforward system of representation based on population would have concentrated political power in East Pakistan, the West Pakistani establishment came up with the "One Unit" scheme, where all of West Pakistan was considered one province. This was solely to counterbalance the East wings votes. Ironically, after the East broke away to form Bangladesh, the Punjab province insisted that politics in West Pakistan now be decided on the basis of a straightforward vote, since Punjabis were more numerous than the other groups, such as Sindhis, Pashtuns, or Balochs.

After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistans first prime minister, in 1951, political power began to be concentrated in the President of Pakistan, and eventually, the military. The nominal elected chief executive, the Prime Minister, was frequently sacked by the establishment, acting through the President.
East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them, such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, Muhammad Ali Bogra, or Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy were elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, they were swiftly deposed by the largely West Pakistani establishment. The military dictatorships of Ayub Khan (27 October 1958 – 25 March 1969) and Yahya Khan (25 March 1969 – 20 December 1971), both West Pakistanis, only heightened such feelings.

Historic Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7 March 1971

The situation reached a climax when in 1970 the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a Sindhi), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing. The proposal elicited outrage in the east wing, already chafing under the other constitutional innovation, the "one unit scheme". Bhutto also refused to accept Rahmans Six Points. On 3 March 1971, the two leaders of the two wings along with the President General Yahya Khan met in Dhaka to decide the fate of the country. Talks failed. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for a nation-wide strike.

On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a speech at the Racecourse Ground (now called theSuhrawardy Udyan). In this speech he mentioned a further four-point condition to consider the National Assembly Meeting on 25 March:

1. The immediate lifting of martial law.

2. Immediate withdrawal of all military personnel to their barracks.

3. An inquiry into the loss of life.

4. Immediate transfer of power to the elected representative of the people before the assembly meeting 25 March.

He urged "his people" to turn every house into a fort of resistance. He closed his speech saying, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence." This speech is considered the main event that inspired the nation to fight for their independence. General Tikka Khan was flown in to Dhaka to become Governor of East Bengal. East-Pakistani judges, including Justice Siddique, refused to swear him in.

Between 10 and 13 March, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dhaka. These "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress. MV Swat, a ship of the Pakistani Navy, carrying ammunition and soldiers, was harbored in Chittagong Port and the Bengali workers and sailors at the port refused to unload the ship. A unit of East Pakistan Rifles refused to obey commands to fire on Bengali demonstrators, beginning a mutiny of Bengali soldiers.

Military imbalance

Bengalis were under-represented in the Pakistan military. Officers of Bengali origin in the different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of overall force by 1965; of these, only a few were in command positions, with the majority in technical or administrative posts.[15] West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlike Pashtuns and Punjabis; the "martial races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis.[15] Moreover, despite huge defence spending, East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis as only an under-strength infantry division and 15 combat aircraft without tank support were in East Pakistan to thwart any Indian retaliation during the conflict.

About Mukthi (Freedom/independence/release)

2012-06-16T05:15:00.003-07:00

I have joined the liberation war of Bangladesh 1971 in the age 16 years only. I got arms training in India by our friends force (Mitra bahini) and i have changed my name Moktel Hossain Mukthi in the year of 1972 after glorious victory.

What is Mukti (mukti is the freedom and Bahini is the forces=Freedom Fighter short named FF)?

Mukti Bahini (Ekatturer beer shenanee) "Liberation Army"), also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, was a guerrilla force which fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তি বাহিনী "Liberation Army"), also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, collectively refers to the armed organizations who fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was dynamically formed by (mostly) Bengali regulars and civilians after the proclamation of Bangladesh's independence on March 26, 1971. Subsequently by mid-April 1971 the Bengali officers and soldiers of East Bengal Regiments formed the "Bangladesh Armed Forces" and M. A. G. Osmani assumed its command. The civilian groups continued to assist the armed forces during the war. After the war "Mukti Bahini" became the general term to refer to all forces (military and civilian) of former East Pakistani origin fighting against the Pakistani armed forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Often Mukti Bahini operated as an effective guerrilla force to keep their enemies on the run. Inspired in part by revolutionary Che Guevara,[1] they have been compared to the French Maquis, Viet Cong, and the guerrillas of Josip Broz Tito in their tactics and effectiveness.

1 Origins
2 Organization during war
3 Regular and irregular forces
3.1 Bangladesh Navy
3.2 Bangladesh Air Force
3.3 Independent forces
3.4 Leftist factions
4 Broadcast warriors
5 Sectors of Liberation War
6 Mukti Bahini in the final phase
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Origins

Although Mukti Bahini was formed to fight off the military crackdown by the Pakistan army on March 25, 1971 during the climax of Bangladesh freedom movement, The crisis had already started taking shape with anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and precipitated into a political crisis at the height of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Six-point movement beginning in the 1970s. In March 1971, rising political discontent and cultural nationalism in what was then East Pakistan (later, Bangladesh) was met by harsh[3] suppressive force from the ruling elite of the West Pakistan establishment[4] in what came to be termed Operation Searchlight.[5]
The massive crackdown by West Pakistan forces[6] became an important factor in precipitating the civil war as a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million)[7][8] came flooding to the eastern provinces of India.[7] Facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, India started actively aiding and re-organising what was by this time already the nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.
The immediate precursor of the Mukti Bahini was Mukti Fauj ("Fauj" is the Urdu originally from Persian borrowed from Arabic for "Brigade" exported into several languages in South Asia including Bengali), which was preceded denominationally by the sangram parishads formed in the cities and villages by the student and youth leaderships in early March 1971. When and how the Mukti Fauj was created is not clear nor is the later adoption of the name Mukti Bahini. It is, however, certain that the names originated generically refer to the people who fought in the Bangladesh liberation war.
Since the anti-Ayub uprising in 1969 and during the height of Mujib's six points movement, there was a growing movement among the Bengalis in East Pakistan to become independent driven by the nationalists, radicals and leftists. After the election of 1970, the subsequent crisis strengthened that feeling within the people. Sheikh Mujib himself was facing immense pressure from most prominent political quarters, especially the ultra-nationalist young student leaders, to declare independence without delay. Armed preparations were going on by some leftist and nationalist groups, and the Bengali army officers and soldiers were prepared to defect. At the call of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the people of East Pakistan joined in a peaceful movement for non-cooperation from 3 March 1971, and 7th march and onward, which lasted up to midnight of 25 March 1971. On this date the Pakistani Army cracked down upon unarmed civilians to take control of the administration. During the army crackdown on the night of March 25, 1971, there were reports of small scale resistance notably at Iqbal Hall, Dhaka University and at the Rajarbagh Police Headquarter. The latter initially put a strong fight against the Pakistan Army. As political events gathered momentum, the stage was set for a clash between the Pakistan Army and the Bengali people vowing for independence. Bengali members of the Army were also defecting and gathering in various pockets of the country.
All these early fights were disorganized and futile because of the greater military strength of the Pakistani Army. Outside of Dhaka, resistance was more successful. The earliest move towards forming a liberation army officially came from the declaration of independence made by Major Ziaur Rahman of East Bengal Regiment on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the declaration made from Kalurghat Betar Kendra (Chittagong) on March 27, 1971, Zia assumed the title of "provisional commander in chief of the Bangladesh Liberation Army", though his area of operation remained confined to Chittagong and Noakhali areas. Major Ziaur Rahman's declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman marked a break with Pakistan by the Bengali units of the army.
Organization during war

See Also: Mujibnagar Government
Though prolonged Bengali resistance was not anticipated by Pakistani planners of Operation Searchlight,[9], when the Pakistani Army cracked down upon the population, the Mukti Bahini were becoming increasingly visible. Headed by Colonel (later, General) M. A. G. Osmani, a retired Pakistani Army officer, this band was raised as Mujib's action arm and security force before assuming the character of a conventional guerrilla force. After the declaration of independence, the Pakistani military sought to quell them, but increasing numbers of Bengali soldiers defected to the underground "Bangladesh army". These Bengali units slowly merged into the Mukti Bahini and bolstered their weaponry.
On April 12, 1971 Colonel (later General) M. A. G. Osmani assumed the command of armed forces at Teliapara (Sylhet) headquarters. Osmani was made the commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces on April 17, 1971. Serious initiative for organising the Bangladesh liberation army was taken between 11-17 July. In a meeting of the sector commanders in Kolkata, four important resolutions were taken in consideration of strategic aspects of the war, existing problems and future course of resistance. These were:
Composition and tactics of the combatants would be as follows:
Guerrilla teams comprising 5 to 10 trained members would be sent to specific areas of Bangladesh with specific assignments
Combat soldiers would carry out frontal attacks against the enemy. Between 50 and 100 per cent would carry arms. Intelligence volunteers would be engaged to collect information about the enemy. 30 percent of these people would be equipped with weapons;
The regular forces would be organised into battalions and sectors.
The following strategies would be adopted while carrying out military operations against the enemy
A large number of guerrillas would be sent out inside Bangladesh to carry out raids and ambushes;
Industries would be brought to a standstill and electricity supply would be disrupted;
Pakistanis would be obstructed in exporting manufactured goods and raw materials;
Communication network would be destroyed in order to obstruct enemy movements;
Enemy forces would be forced to disperse and scatter for strategic gains;
The whole area of Bangladesh would be divided into 11 sectors.
Other than the organizations of Mukti Bahini who were generally trained and armed by the Indian Army, there were independent guerrilla groups led by individual leaders, either nationalists or leftists, who were successfully controlling some areas.

Regular and irregular forces

Leaflets and pamphlets played an important role in driving public opinion during the war.
The regular forces later called Niomita Bahini (regular force) consisted of the members of the East Bengal Regiments (EBR), East Pakistan Rifles (EPR, later BDR), police, other paramilitary forces and the general people who were commanded by the army commanders in the 11 sectors all over Bangladesh. Three major forces: Z-Force under the command of Major (later, Major General) Ziaur Rahman, K-Force under Major (later Brigadier ) Khaled Mosharraf and S-Force under Major (later Major General) K M Shafiullah were raised afterwards to fight battles in efficient manners. The irregular forces, generally called Gono Bahini (people's army), were those who were trained more in guerrilla warfare than the conventional one.
The irregular forces, which after initial training joined different sectors, consisted of the students, peasants, workers and political activists. Irregular forces were initiated inside Bangladesh province to adopt guerrilla warfare against the enemy. The regular forces were engaged in fighting the usual way.
The Mukti Bahini obtained strength from the two main streams of fighting elements: members of armed forces of erstwhile East Pakistan and members of the urban and rural youths many of whome were volunteers. Other groups included members of sangram parishads, youth and student wings of Awami League, NAP, Leftist-Communist Parties and radical groups. The Mukti Bahini had several factions. The foremost one was organized by the members of the regular armed force, who were generally known as Freedom Fighters (FF). Then there was Bangladesh Liberation Forces (BLF) led by four youth leaders of the political wing of Sheikh Mujib's Awami League and the third one generally known as Special Guerrilla Forces (SGF) led by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, National Awami Party, and Bangladesh Students Union. They then jointly launched guerrilla operations against the Pakistani Army causing heavy damages and casualties. This setback prompted the Pakistani Army to induct Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams (mostly members of Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist groups), as well as other Bengalis who opposed independence, and Biharis who had settled during the time of partition. This helped Pakistan stem the tide somewhat as the monsoon approached in the months of June and July.

Bangladesh Navy

Bangladesh Navy was constituted in August 1971. Initially, there were two ships and 45 navy personnel. These ships carried out many successful raids on the Pakistani fleet. But both of these ships were mistakenly hit and destroyed by Indian fighter planes on 10 December 1971, when they were about to launch a major attack on Mongla seaport.
[edit]Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force started functioning on 28 September at Dimapur in Nagaland, under the command of Air Commodore AK Khondakar. Initially, it consisted of 17 officers, 50 technicians, 2 planes and 1 helicopter. The Air Force carried out more than twelve sorties against Pakistani targets and was quite successful during the initial stages of the Indian attack in early December.

Independent forces

In addition, there were also some independent forces that fought in various regions of Bangladesh and liberated many areas. These included Mujib Bahini which was organized in India. Major General Oban of the Indian Army and Student League leaders Serajul Alam Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani, Kazi Arif Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Tofael Ahmed, A. S. M. Abdur Rab, Shahjahan Siraj, Nur E Alam Siddiqi, and Abdul Quddus Makhon were organisers of this Bahini. There was the Kaderia Bahini under Kader Siddique of Tangail, Afsar Bahini and Aftab Bahini of Mymensingh, Latif Mirza Bahini of Sirajganj, Akbar Hossain Bahini of Jhinaidah, Quddus Molla and Gafur Bahini of Barisal, Hemayet Bahini under Hemayet Uddin of Faridpur. There were also several communist/leftist groups who clashed with the Pakistan Army, and controlled some areas independently.

Leftist factions

In addition,there were some other groups of freedom fighters which were controlled by the Leftist parties and groups including the NAP and Communist Parties. Among others, Siraj Sikder raised a strong guerrilla force which fought several battles with the Pakistani soldiers in Payarabagan, Barisal. Although there were ideological conflicts among the communist parties (most notably, split into pro-soviet and pro-Chinese factions and widespread split within the pro-Chinese faction) on deciding a common action in the context of Bangladesh Liberation, many of the individuals and leaders of Mukti Bahini were deeply influenced by the leftist ideology in general. There were strong concerns among the Indian authority and members of the Awami League led provisional government not to lose the control of the liberation war to the leftists. Nevertheless many leftists overcame these internal and external difficulties and actively participated in the Liberation war with the main nucleus of the Mukti Bahini.

Broadcast warriors

Performers at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra like M. R. Akhtar Mukul, Apel Mahmud Gopal C. Talukder (Singer), Abdul Jabbar (Singer), Mohammad Shah were great inspirations for the freedom-fighters in 1971, and were considered to be Broadcast Warriors.

Sectors of Liberation War

The eleven sectors
Main article: List of Sectors in Bangladesh Liberation War
Immediately after formation, the new government of Bangladesh shifted its focus on organizing the war against Pakistan Army. A Cabinet meeting of Bangladesh government on July 11, 1971 appointed Col. M. A. Gopal. Osmani as Commander in Chief, Lt. Col. Abdur Rab as Chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A K Khandker as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force.
In this meeting Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors and each Sector was assigned a Sector Commander. The 10th Sector was directly placed under the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force.[10]
The Sector Commanders were chosen from defected officers of Pakistan army who joined the Mukti Bahini. These trained officers directed the guerrilla warfare as well as trained the independence militia who lacked formal training on military operations. Most of these training camps were situated near the border area and were operated with direct assistance from India.
For better efficiency in combat operations, each of the sectors were divided into a number of sub-sectors. The table below provides a list of the sectors along with the name of the sector commanders.
Sectors of Bangladesh Liberation War
Sector Area Sector Commander
1 Chittagong District, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the entire eastern area of the Noakhali District on the banks of the river Muhuri. Major Ziaur Rahman, later replaced by Major Rafiqul Islam
2 Districts of Dhaka, Comilla, Faridpur, and part of Noakhali District. Major Khaled Mosharraf, later replaced by Major ATM Haider
3 Area between Churaman Kathi (near Sreemangal) and Sylhet in the north and Singerbil of Brahmanbaria in the south. Major KM Shafiullah, later replaced by Major ANM Nuruzzaman.
4 Area from Habiganj District on the north to Kanaighat Police Station on the south along the 100 mile long border with India. Major Chittarajan Datta, later replaced by Captain A Rab.
5 Area from Durgapur to Danki (Tamabil) of Sylhet District and the entire area up to the eastern borders of the district. Major Mir Shawkat Ali
6 Rangpur District and part of Dinajpur District. Wing Commander M Khademul Bashar
7 Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra and part of Dinajpur District. Major Nazmul Huq, later replaced by Subedar Major A Rab and Kazi Nuruzzaman.
8 In April 1971, the operational area of the sector comprised the districts of Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Faridpur and Patuakhali. At the end of May the sector was reconstituted and comprised the districts of Kuhstia, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira and the northern part of Faridpur district. Major Abu Osman Chowdhury, later replaced by Major MA Manzur.
9 Barisal, Patuakhali, and parts of the district of Khulna and Faridpur. Major M A Jalil later replaced by Major MA Manzur and Major Joynal Abedin.
10 This sector was constituted with the naval commandos. Indian commander MN Sumanta.
11 Mymensingh and Tangail. Major M Abu Taher, later replaced by Squadron Leader Hamidullah.
Source: Sectors of the War of Liberation; Shirin, S. M.; Banglapedia.

Mukti Bahini in the final phase

The liberation forces started carrying out massive raids into enemy fronts from October 1971. After the signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971, India began to demonstrate more interest in the Bangladesh war. Eventually India legally entered the war on 3 December 1971 (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971) after Pakistan's preemptive air raids on some Indian cities in the western border. In fact, the Indian soldiers were already participating in the war in different guises since November when the independence fighters had launched the Belonia battle. When the Indian Army planned to avoid battles and seize the capital Dhaka in the shortest campaign possible, the Mukti Bahini made the task much easier by confining the Pakistani army and holding them back from moving towards to capital.
Despite the difficult terrain of Bangladesh, the war was won rapidly. Dhaka was liberated in a matter of two weeks. The Mukti Bahini were a major contributing factor in the Indian Victory fighting both as irregulars, and as conventional forces alongside the Indians. Several actions in the heart of the capital and the killing of Monaem Khan, a loyalist, anti-Bengali and ex-governor of East Pakistan, proved the effectiveness and capability of the guerrillas.
On 16 December 1971, commander of the 14 division of Pakistan army Major General Jamshed surrendered to Indian General Nagra near Mirpur bridge in Dhaka. At 10.40 am, the Indian allied force and Kader Siddique entered Dhaka city. That signaled the end of the 9-month long War of Liberation of Bangladesh. Scattered battles were still waged at various places of the country.
The Commander of Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army, Lt. General A. A. K. Niazi surrendered to the commander of the joint Indo-Bangladesh force and the chief of Indian eastern command Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora. The Bangladesh Forces were represented at the ceremony by Group Captain A. K. Khandker.

Mitro Bahini

References

^ Dangerous Liaison by Raza Naeem, Frontline, Volume 26 - Issue 15, July 18–31 2009
^ Why the Movement for Bangladesh Succeeded: A military appreciation by Mumtaz Iqbal
^ Genocide in Bangladesh, 1971. Gendercide Watch.
^ Emerging Discontent, 1966-70. Country Studies Bangladesh
^ Anatomy of Violence: Analysis of Civil War in East Pakistan in 1971: Military Action: Operation Searchlight Bose S Economic and Political Weekly Special Articles, October 8, 2005
^ The Pakistani Slaughter That Nixon Ignored , Syndicated Column by Sydney Schanberg, New York Times, May 3, 1994
^ a b Crisis in South Asia - A report by Senator Edward Kennedy to the Subcommittee investigating the Problem of Refugees and Their Settlement, Submitted to U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, November 1, 1971, U.S. Govt. Press.pp6-7
^ India and Pakistan: Over the Edge. TIME Dec 13, 1971 Vol. 98 No. 24
^ Pakistan Defence Journal, 1977, Vol 2, p2-3
^ Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force, Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh.
Jagjit singh Arora

HEROES LIVE FOREVER: SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN (THE FOUNDER OF BANGLADESH)

2012-06-16T05:09:00.003-07:00

HEROES LIVE FOREVER:

BANGABANSHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN

(THE FOUNDER OF BANGLADESH)

“Man is mortal”- the universal truth. I want to say that, not only man of human being is mortal but also all living being is mortal. Nobody can live forever but ones goodwill or image is immortal. Society never forgets some ones activities. Human’s activities are universal. Man can live in his goodwill or positive image forever. Whose who are remarkable in the world they have done something for society without any personal profit.

They are heroes of the nations. There activities are immortal. Human being will remember the mass people will remember their activities forever as well as their name. For this reasons we can say that, heroes live forever.

In the same way, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the national heroes of Bangladesh. He was a symbol fighter politician at the whole Pakistan period from 1950s to 1971. He has a major part to become Bangladesh it self as an independent country. Bangladeshi Nationals were free from the Pakistani unitary rule. At first let’s know some thing about this great leader.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman & His activities:

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth on March 17, 1920,in the sleepy village of Tungipara in the then district of Faridpur did not hit the headlines, nor did any newspaper bring out special supplements to celebrate the occasion as an event of national importance until the liberation of Bangladesh in the declining days of December 1971. Nobody even his happy parents (Sheikh Lutfur Rahman and Begum Sayera Khatun), could foresee that with him was born a history that would record the birth and destiny of a nation & that their son will occupy a permanent place in the gallery of history makers. He was chosen to serve a divine design and to play a vital role (and suffer in the process) in sapping the destiny of 75 million people of what was to emerge as a free Bangladesh.

Even the sunrise days of his life a sense of involvement began to grow within. It was as he felt in silent prompting inside him to reach out to others, to fraternize with the people around him and to live intimately with them, as one of them in weal and woe, in joy and sorrow. This feeling was however.

1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1143363 2

undemonstrative as the easy and effortless opening of a bud. It grew slowly unconsciously and insensibly.

Once the villagers were hit by a poor harvest. The consequence crisis in the kitchen became the main topic of discussion everywhere and everybody wore a distressed and mournful face. Although totally unaffected, young Mujib’s sympathetic heart felt a stab of pain at the distress of the co-villagers. But he knew that being sorry for them would not fill the empty plates; he had to think of doing something positive about it and the only remedy that he could think of was to urge his father to distribute paddy from their own “gola” (store house) to ease the shortage. His anxiety to provide relief to the needy overlooked the capacity of the stock and the practicability of the proposition.

Schoolboy Mujib met H.S. Suhrawardy during his visit of Gupalgonj. Surawardy at once recognized the dynamic qualities of Mujib as a political worker and the promise of leadership, which made him distinctly difference from the others of his age group. Politically speaking, Mujib attended adulthood much before his time. The meting eventually resulted in the development of an intimate and durable relationship between them, which lasted till the death of Saruwardy. Mujib’s real political apprenticeship began from that time and in 1943 when he was a mere Intermediate Arts student is became a member of the All Indian Muslim League Council. Three years later, while still a student he established his claim to leadership by successfully organizing and conducting the 1946 election campaign of the Muslim League in the then district of Faridpur.

At the end of his academic cum political career in Calcutta (1943 – 47) Mujib came over to Dhaka which became the capital of East Bengal later rename East Pakistan, then eastern wing of Pakistan which was born in August 14, 1947, the year of his graduation from Calcutta University. As desired by his father, he got himself enrolled as a student of law in the University of Dhaka. But the change of place did not in any way disturb the continuity of his keen interest in men and matters out side the academic world. Here also Mujib, the law student, the political activist, and inset for qualify in the Bar; he became involved in activities that often found him behind prison bars.

An organizer of extraordinary ability blessed also with the vision of an architect, the Sheikh buildup the Awami League into a real mass oriented organization giving the people a political life. Not a political club of the explosive type decorated with notable names of the urban gentry, but a party of virtual nondescripts and the anonymous message living or struggling to live in the neglected rural areas. He made it an organization of the 98 % of the population, so long unaware of its awesome majesty, pitted against parties of the 2% wealthy urbanities monopolizing political and economic power. As he foresaw, the Awami League gradually became a tremendous political force capable of shaping the future of the country and emancipating the exploited Bangladeshis.

Sheikh Mujib never pursued the shadow of power, which indeed intoxicates the best hearts, as wine does the strongest heads. The only intoxicant, which stimulated both his head and heart, was his strong sense of pride and dignity as a Bangalee, which he also wanted every Bangalee to possess. He had a mission to fulfill – the mission to bringing about an order in which Bangalees will be able to enjoy full political rights, economic justice, cultural and intellectual freedom.

Unlike many another Bangalee political leaders who could be successfully EBDO – Ed and subdued, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was feared as an extraordinary courageous adversary, who had to be restrained in order to keep East Bengal permanently as a colony and an exclusive area of exploitation. He was the main road – block that had to be cleared to ensure a smooth passage to that goal.

From October 12, 1958, Sheikh Mujib was kept in detention for about one year and a half. During that long period half – a – dozen criminal cases were instituted against him. That he was honorably acquitted of all the criminal charges showed how false, malicious and politically motivated those charges were and that despite the regime’s harsh attitude at least some of the higher count managed to display their sense of justice by refusing to deliver dictated judgments.

From 1966 to the general election of December 1970, the political movement in East Pakistan was principally based on the Awami League’s six-point program officially presented by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The much discussed, much dissected and much debated program embodied the specific demands of East Bengal those acceptance alone would end the social, economic and political injustice done to this province. While those in power and cheer – leaders read in it a message of Pakistan’s doom, Bangalees by and large treated it’s a life saving drug containing all the vital ingredients in a consented form – a drug which would save Bangalees from the deep rooted economic & political malaise of two decades without having any adverse effects on other and Pakistan. Sheikh Mujib’s six points presage the emergence of Bangladesh.

The six – points of Sheikh Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman:

I. “The constitution should provide for a federation of Pakistan in its true sense on the basis of Lahore Resolution & parliamentary form of government with supremacy of legislature directly elected on the basis of universal adult franchise”.

II. “Federal government shall deal with only three subjects, for example Defense, Foreign affairs & Currency and all other residuary subjects shall vest in the federating units”.

III. “Two separate but freely convertible currencies for two wings may be introduced or one currency for the whole country may be maintained. In this case effective constitutional provision is to be maid to stop flight of capital.

from East to West Pakistan. Separate banking reserve is to be made and separate fiscal and monetary policy to be adopted for East Pakistan”.

IV. “The power of taxation and revenue collection shall vest in the federating units and the federal center will have a share in the State taxes for meting their required expenditure”.

A. There shall be two separate accounts for foreign exchange earnings of the two wings.

B. Earnings of East Pakistan shall be under the control of East Pakistan government and those of West Pakistan under the control of West Pakistan government.

C. Foreign exchange requirement of the federal government shall be met by the two wings either equal or in the ratio to be fixed.

D. Indigenous products shall move free of duty between two wings.

E. The constitution shall power the unit government to established trade and commercial relations, setup trade mission in, and enter into agreements with foreign countries.

VI. Setting up a military or Para – military force for East Pakistan.

In all his public utterances General Yahya Khan, the President of the Pakistan that was, put up a show of his unwillingness to remain in power even a day longer than was absolutely necessary. On every occasion, and he made a plenty of them, he reaffirmed that his government was an interim one holding the country together till the induction of a democratic government under a democratic Constitution to be framed on the basis of a consensus of all political parties. When asked if he would himself present a Constitution to the people in case his search for a consensus continued to prove abortive, he would dismiss the idea and emphatically assert that he would never repeat the mistake of his predecessor, giving an impression that he really took a lesson from that mistake. He was fond of repeating his newly acquired wisdom about the corruptibility of power never omitting the last part of the cliché of absolute power corrupting absolutely. From the frequency of the quotation, meant to reveal his distaste for power, it seemed to some that he was sincere about it and to others that it was only an attempt to conceal his power lust.

The latter view gained more credence because while he assured that his government was not averse to restoration of political activity in the country and that he was seeking co-operation of political leaders in bringing about proper conditions for holding elections, he never failed at the same time to caution everybody that he was the Head of a Martial Law regime. The implication (and not too indirect) was that proper conditions were not there and his search for a consensus of all political parties was yet inconclusive.

The Awami League chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman held that all Martial Law regimes are alike and all military heads of state arc equally.

susceptible to the lust of power although their methods of acquiring and clinging to power may be different. The same power greed activated both Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. Only the latter was trying to cunningly exploit the pain of frustration inflicted by the former.

Considered in practical terms, it was not easy to get the kind of consensus Yahya Khan insisted upon, because all the parties were not similarly motivated. For instance, while the Sheikh was for maximum autonomy on the basis of the Six-Point Program, the demands of the other political leaders were quite modest. Contrary to the belief of the others that anything would be better than nothing, the Sheikh was firmly convinced that it would be a poor political strategy to betray the weakness of a supplicant anxious to take anything that the rulers were pleased to grant. Such an attitude of helplessness would indefinitely postpone realization of rights. A correct understanding of the situation created by the mass upsurge should, he thought and argued, establish the truth that it was for the regime to appease the Bangalees and not for the Bangalees to solicit favor. If a consensus was necessary, it should be the consensus of the people, and not that of some politicians.

As a doughty organizer of mass movements, a courageous crusader for justice and a lifelong sufferer for espousing a cause, Sheikh Mujib knew that the cumulative effects of the events of 1948, 1952, 1962, 1966, 069 that took an appalling toll of lives and left an indelible imprint on the minds of conscious Bangalees could not be lost. The Bangalees had paid the price for there legitimate rights and the goods had now been delivered. He had no doubt that it was impossible for Yahya Khan to check the course of the people's movement which brought about the fall of Ayub Khan. As Ayub Khan's successor Yahya Khan was equally vulnerable and his performance alone would determine whether his exit would be as painful. Whether he would leave the political scene with or without the stigma of a villain would depend on his ability to make an objective appraisal of the situation and the past events leading to it.

In spite of the military strength at his disposal, Yahya Khan realized, or seemed to realize, that it would no longer be possible to govern the people without their consent or at least a semblance of it. So at long last he permitted resumption of political activity in the country from January 1970 and declared that general elections would be held on December 10, 1970 and the first session of the Constituent Assembly would commence on March 3, 1971.

There were some attempts to postpone the elections to a later date on the ground that the turnout of voters might be poor in December after the widespread devastations in the wake of a severe cyclone and tidal bores in a vast area of the then East Pakistan killing several hundred thousand of people besides causing colossal loss of property. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman saw that the move for deferring the polls was part of a conspiracy to delay.

transfer of power to the people's representatives. He strongly opposed it and demanded that the devastations provided a stronger reason for holding the elections on the scheduled date rather than for postponement. He said that the indifference of the Central Government in Islamabad to the distressed people in the affected areas showed beyond any doubt that the salvation of Bangalees lay in their own efforts, which would be possible only if they had their full share of control over the administration of their affairs. It was apparent to the Sheikh that if the elections were put off, they would continue to be the victims of natural, political and economic calamity. So, with the full backing of the people, he declared that the government would be responsible for a major disaster if the elections were not held as promised. Yahya Khan was obliged to decide against any change in the election schedule.

In all his public meetings Sheikh Mujib said that the election would be treated as a referendum on the Awami League's Six-Point Program. Each vote cast in favor of an Awami League candidate would be a mandate for implementation of the Six-Point. The Six-Point Formula was the only election issue of his party and having known the people more intimately than any one else, he was sure that his party would win by an overwhelming majority.

The results showed that it was an understatement. The victory of the Awami League was sweeping and complete. In the then East Pakistan his party bagged all but two seats that gave it

A very comfortable majority over the combined strength of all the parties of East and West Pakistan. The Sheikh emerged as the topmost political figure in the country and the leader of the single largest party to which power was to be transferred.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a Prime Minister:

Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the inevitable successor to the revolutionary leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. As a logical sequence and consequence the pre-liberation hero has reappeared in the principal role of the post-liberation drama of Bangladesh. No other order of succession would suit and serve the nation.

The independent arid sovereign State of Bangladesh is his masterpiece, his self-fulfillment. Therefore, to know Bangabandhu is to know Bangladesh and vice versa. In him one can have a heart's eye view of Bangladesh.

Although he epitomizes the body and soul, the hopes and aspirations of the Bangalee nation, it is alien to his democratic character to indulge in imperial self-glorification by identifying the State with himself. A great commoner, he has nothing but unqualified contempt for Louisiana vanity pronounced 1'etat c'est moi (the state, it is I).

7 ,

It has been said, and quite aptly, that if the Bangalee nation was to take a human form, it would look like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Seventy-five million people of Bangladesh were rolled into one man and the history of the nation was wrapped up in him. It will not be an overstatement to say that his life was the nation's biography.

It is not easy to fully represent the spiritual vigor of this nearly six-feet of solid manhood, of this tall, imposing and wonderfully animated human statue, who has changed the course of history and reversed the trends and forces that seemed irreversible. Nor is it possible to faithfully portray in a few words this big size character already vividly projected on the wide screen of modern history. Resurgent Bangladesh of seventy-five million inspired people was the real measure of his greatness.

Bangladesh was not built in a day. For centuries it existed as an idea and an ideal in the unfulfilled dream of the ancient heroes of Bengal who carried it to their graves. Bangabandhu, who inherited this legacy, reared and nourished the dream into a strong and abiding passion and gave the passion a shape, that is, the map of Bangladesh, which was engraved on his heart.

How he turned this sentimental map into a territorial reality is history. This history covers a period of twenty-four^.Years from virtually the birth of Pakistan to its partial death. He built the castle of Bangladesh in his mind and then started to lay a solid foundation, which took nearly a quarter of a century to complete. He did it by hard labor and personal suffering and sacrifice all reinforced by his immense love for the people and his intense conviction that he is on the side of justice.

Love has been the legit-motif of his politics. He was never just a professional politician. His entry into politics was not the result of a search for a career but was necessitated by the pursuit of a purpose, namely, the emancipation of Bangalees from age-old exploitation through the establishment of a free and fully autonomous Bangladesh. His unwavering moral conviction was the élan vital the life force that has made him a man of action among fumblers.

Soon after the establishment of Pakistan he found that it was something different from the Pakistan which the Lahore Resolution of 1940 intended it to be and that instead of being treated as an autonomous federating unit, East Bengal was being condemned as a politically dominated and economically exploited colony of West Pakistan. As a proud Bangalee it was impossible for him to accept the position of East Bengal rapidly becoming a political backyard of the western wing and an economic graveyard of the Bangalees.

He sowed the seeds of Bangalee nationalism in the hearts of the people, which nurtured, nourished and fertilized with his immense love and his personal suffering eventually sprouted into

A banyan tree of a mighty movement against the despots of West Pakistan. The latter’s policy of persecution stimulated and spurred the movement to a constitutional struggle, then a long-drawn-out crusade and finally a successful revolution.

Fearless of the future and heedless of his own fate, he had been driven by his intense determination to carry on the crusade for the honor, justice and freedom of Bangalees. The intensity of his conviction was tested by his long rigorous struggle and the trials of his political life that included over a decade of detention in prison and grave charges that could cost him his life, all of which he could easily avoid and substitute by a comfortable life only if he agreed to conform.

Unlike many other leaders, he always initiated and guided a movement rather than be drawn into one. And unlike the indoor type of political theorists far removed from the people, he had provided what may be called an applied leadership, which reflects the characteristic vitality of a passionate nationalist that he is. As a political organizer he had no peer. The strength of his party, the Awami League, the most widespread political network, bears testimony to it. When he used to go out proselytizing for his party, he was invariably greeted with full-throated slogan of "Long live Bangabandhu" and a pledge of allegiance.

An advance notice of his public meeting invariably created a spatial problem. The venue was transformed into a sea of humanity spilling all over. h was an audio-visual treat to sec and hears him speak. The people were madly in love with his voice, which produced a kind of compulsion that the listeners simply could not resist. They were enthralled, spellbound and inspired by the sweet and fiery music of his dramatically delivered speeches. When he was awaiting almost certain death in prison in West Pakistan during the nine months of 1971 his tape-recorded voice repeating his public speech of March 7, 1971 in the course of which he declared "the struggle this time is the struggle for liberation, this struggle is the struggle for independence" inspired and guided the freedom fighters throughout the war. The `Bajra-Kantha' (the thundering voice) gave the command and they obeyed and fought. From prison he led the country to victory.

He had a talent for turning disasters into triumphs, which enabled him many a time to borrow life from death in order to stake it again and again for the people's cause. This talent or moral strength emanate from his enduring loves for the people and from his abiding faith in them. So he was a confirmed democrat, a benign socialist, a liberal secularist, an uncompromising nationalist and after all and above all, a humanist and lover of peace. To many this was a difficult combination. With no pretension to infallibility, he loves to experiment with what seems incomprehensible to others. Because of this Bangladesh, which was Utopia to many, became a reality.

Sheikh Mujib strongly believed that power came from the love and loyalty of the people and not from the barrel of a gun. The emergence of

Bangladesh, he proudly asserted and reasserted, provided an unassailable proof of this truth.

Bangabandhu at a glance:

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born at Tunggi para at Gopalgong in the 27^thMarch 1920. His fathers name is Lutfar Rahman & mothers name is Saira Khatun. He passed matriculation in 1941 from Gopalgong Mission School. He passed HSC & BA from Calcutta Islamia College respectively in 1944 and 1946. He starts his political career as an active student leader at Calcutta respectively “Muslim Chatro Andolon & Banggio Pradesik Muslim League” under the supervision of Hosain Sahid Sohrawardi.

He has admitted himself at Dhaka University as a student of law in 1987. He established “East Pakistan Muslim Chatro league” at 4^thJanuary 1948. He was the founder chairman of that party. He attended in the language movement at 1952 from Prison (as Anasan Dormogat). At 1953 he became the General Secretary of Awami Muslim League. He was elected an East Bengal parliament member from Tunggipara in the election of 1958 as a leader of “Jukta Front”. He was elected a member of Pakistan general assembly by the East Bengal parliament members in 1955.

In 1956 he was appointed the labor, industry, commerce & anti – corruption minister of the East Pakistan provincial government. In 1966 he declared six –point in Lahore conference as the guidelines of Bengali independence. Pakistan government charged him the main actor of Agartala conspiracy case in 6^thJune 1969. He got title The Bangabandhu in the Raisecourse field in 23^rdFebruary1969 by “Chatro Songram Parisad”.

Awami League got single majority in East Pakistan in the election of 1970 under his leadership. This victory was the first declaration of independence under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. General Yahea Khan postponed the national assembly for unlimited time. At the same time Bangabondo declared strike and revolution. He says that, “This revolution is the revolution of our independence” at a meting in Raiscourse field in 7^thMarch 1970.

He was arrested by the Pakistani military in 25^thMarch 1970 at his house. He was in jail during the whole liberation war of Bangladesh. He came to Dhaka at 10^thJanuary 1972. He took the position of the Prime minister of Bangladesh in 12^thJanuary 1972. In his period Bangladesh got approval from 104 countries. Bangladesh became a member of Commonwealth, UN, NAM, and OIC in his ruling period. The constitution of Bangladesh was edited in his period. He got the Jolly & Kuri medal from world peace council. In his period Farakka agreement was sign under his leadership in 1974.

In his leadership the fourth amendment of the constitution was passed in 25^thJanuary 1975. This amendment changed the system of government from parliamentary to presidential. By dissolving all political parties of the country he established one party “BAKSAL” government. He was the chairman of the

“BAKSAL”. In the same year, some Army personnel killed him in the 25^thAugust.

Three-and-a-half-year Rule of Bangabandhu's Government: An Era of Reconstruction and Institution-building

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh, was in power only for three-and-a-half year. The anti -independence and anti-national forces that seized power after his brutal killing on 15 August, 1975 have since then unleashed a campaign of lies and vilification about B angabandhu and his government. The people were not allowed to know the facts. They were kept in darkness about the reality following the liberation war and devastation caused by it. There was still then a conspiracy against our hard-craned independence being hatched by anti -independence forces-both local and international-that were out to sabotage all the achievements of Bangabandhu despite tough challenges and odds. Yet, Bangabandhu's Government achieved commendable successes in the reconstruction of the war-divested nation.

The first meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on 13 January, 1972. The meeting approved the design of our national flag, national anthem Amar Sonar Bangla and the marching-song chal chal. The meeting also formed a committee on postal stamps and sanctioned funds for reconstruction of the Shahicl Minar. On the same day, Bangabandhu took some more important measures including the writing off all Khazna (land tax) for that year, distribution of 250 million taka loan among the farmers, steps to restore the telecommunication system within the country in six months, actions to start production in the Raj shahi Sugar Mill and an announcement that telecommunication between Dhaka and Comilla will be restored without any delay.

Rehabilitation / Reconstruction / Building of Infrastructure:

During the liberation war the economic infrastructure and production process were destroyed. The defeated Pakistan army left the country's two seaports-Chittagong and Mongla-totally inoperative. There were mines planted along the ports' channels and ships capsized. A total of 291 rail bridges, including the Hardinge Bridge, were affected because of the war. In addition, 274 highway bridges were damaged. The new government found 10 per cent of rail-lines uprooted throughout the country. At least, 66 ferries, 5,000 trucks and 2,500 buses were destroyed. The Pakistan army also destroyed tens of thousands of houses across the country. Not a singe seagoing vessel was left. There was no reserve of any foreign exchange and no gold. The food godowns were empty. But Bangabandhu tackled the situation with courage and great statesmanship and earned respect of the international community.

Education:

During the war, Pakistani soldiers and their collaborators the Razakars and Al-Badrs-tumed nearly all schools of the country into military camps. The defeated and departing army either destroyed the schools or set them afire. Education received top priority with Bangabandhu. So, he nationalized the primary education. The primary school teachers, who have so long been neglected, received the status of government employees. The government opened 11,000 new primary schools and about 100,000 new teachers were employed. Primary education was made compulsory. Other measures included Tiffin for students, free education for girls unto class VIII and free supply of educational materials such as books, writing paper and pencils. The government started implementing the recommendations of Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda Commission, which sought to make education universal, modem and scientific with emphasis on vocational and technical training. Text Book Board was set up. Madrassa education was modernised and an Islamic Foundation was created.

The government arranged massive student scholarships and training facilities. All `black laws' regarding universities were repealed and the universities received autonomy. Bangla Academy was reorganized and it was decided that Bangla would be introduced in all spheres of the state. Shilpakala Academy was created. Democratic reforms were introduced in the cultural field; censorship system for theatre was done away with. A set of principles was drawn to run the mass media in the public interest. The government at the college and university hostels subsidized food. Free distribution of shirts, trousers, paper, books, pens and pencils covered students from university down to primary schools.

Health: The government started work on construction of health centers at each Thana and union of the country. In each of the 365 thanas a 31-bed hospital was set up with modem facilities. Medical colleges were established indifferent parts of the country, hospitals were set up and the jobs of many temporary health workers were made permanent. Family planning was given a priority and projects were taken up to achieve this goal. Registration schemes were introduced for fertile couples. Pilot projects in this field were given free nutritious food and 45 per cent of the population was brought under rationing network. Tube-wells were sunk in each village to supply pure drinking water. Women Rehabilitation Board was formed and measures were taken for women's employment.

Agriculture: Bangladesh is an agrarian country, agriculture being the main source of national income. After the independence, the government rehabilitated more than 2.2 million peasant families. In addition to building a modern agricultural infrastructure for them, the government had to supply agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides either at subsidized prices of free of cost. The government installed 40,000 powered low-lift pumps, 2,900 deep and 3,000 shallow tube wells within 1973. In

12 .

1972, the government distributed 16,125 tons of high-yielding rice seeds and 1,037 tons of wheat seeds. Besides, certificate cases against one million farmers were lifted and all their arrear loans were written off. Land tax unto 25 bighas of land was waived forever. Arrangement was made for price support to crops like paddy, jute, tobacco and sugarcane meaning that minimum price for purchase of these agricultural products by the government was introduced. Rationing system was introduced for poor farmers. Their children were given free education supported by the government.

Until 15 August, 1975 the share of landless peasants accounted for 35 per cent of the population. The government arranged distribution of Kha,s land among these landless peasants. Ceiling was introduced upto 100 bighas of land. Food deficit was 3 million tons a year until the independence. One-third of the cultivable land was fallow. The Government of Bangabandhu launched a series of measures to reduce the food deficit and encourage the farmers in various ways. The government took some speedy measures to solve the problems of farmers and agriculture and adopted village-based programs. Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation introduced three types of irrigation: (a) Power pumps, (b) Deep tube wells and (c) Shallow irrigation pumps. The power pump project was strengthened and promoted. In 1968-69, the number of power pumps was 11,000 while in 1974-75 this increased to 36,000. As a result, the acreage of irrigated land rose from 2.6 million acres in 1970 to 3.6 million acres in 1975. Naturally, the food production increased.

The use of chemical fertilizer increased by 74 per cent, pesticide by 40 per cent, high-yielding seed by 25 per cent in 1973-74, compared to 1969-70. Special emphasis was put on agricultural research. Even though the price of chemical fertilizers increased manifold in international market, no price-hike took place in Bangladesh. In 1972, the price of urea, potash and TSP were respectively Tk. 20, Tk. 15 and Tk. 10 per maund Industry:

In the face of imminent defeat in the war, the Pakistani army, non-Bengalese industrialists and administrative staff transferred

Capital money and valuable equipment and spares to Pakistan. At the same time, they left their property in Bangladesh destroyed, including machinery and factories, Moreover, the non-Bengalese workers were more in number in these factories, so, there was heavy dislocation and crisis erupted rendering factories out of production. But the government took speedy measures and production in these factories resumed under the government's supervision. The trend of substantial rise in the production of sugar, yarn and engineering products noticed in 1973 continued during 1974-75 and production rose by 12 percent.

The production of manufactured yarn and clothes increased by 11 per cent and 3 per cent respectively in the first nine months of that year. Production

13 of certain commodities increased encouragingly, including food grains, newsprint, tea, cycles, electric cables and bronze wares etc.

Price situation:

Inflation was running critically high in global economic system in 1974. The impact was felt all over the world and as a result prices started rising in developed as well as developing countries. Compared with 1970, the prices of all consumer goods increased by 11 per cent in Argentina, 26 per cent in Chile, threefold in Korea and it doubled in Britain in 1975. Food prices increased 10 times in Argentina, 30 times in Chile, three-fold in Korea and double in Britain. The price of wheat in international market increased by 400 times in 1974 than in 1972. For example, in 1971 Thailand used to sell rice at $ 130 per ton and this hiked to $ 600 by March, 1974. It was very natural for price to rise also in Bangladesh, whose economy was already shattered by the war. But prices of consumer goods increased only from June, 1974 until January, 1975. Then the prices started falling.

Bangabandhu was leading the country boldly and with great determination despite floods, shortage, treachery, bank robberies, chaos, disruption, sabotage and all kinds of odds. It was amazing how neatly he rebuilt the economy out of ashes. He created a history of reconstruction of war-crippled economy, which did not occur in many Western countries. The governments in these

Countries told their peoples that they would not entertain any new demands in five years. America did not raise the salary of government employees for five years after the war. 1Vlilions of people died of famine after revolution in Russia and China.

But Bangabandhu moved forward overcoming all obstacles. In just three years he built an edifice of development worth 130,000 million taka on the ruins of 110,000 million taka. Because of his dynamic leadership, Bangladesh got the membership of U.N., Commonwealth, OIC and 14 other international organizations and recognition from most of the countries by August, 1975. He restored balance in industrial and agricultural production, introduced new education policy.

The world was amazed to see how quickly Bangladesh achieved development in power, energy and communications under Bangabandhu's leadership. During 1974-75 Boro season, 2.249 million tons of rice was produced, which is 29 thousand tons up from production the previous year. Bangladesh was virtually flooded with food production. Bangabandhu decided that he would announce by December that Bangladesh achieved self-sufficiency in food. The conspirators launched their final blow at this stage with great calculation.

The following achievements speak for themselves:

Five hundred sixty-seven bridges, including Hardinge and Bhairab bridges, were built or repaired; seven new ferries were pressed into

14 service, 1,851 rail-wagons and passenger-bogies were put into operation; 460 buses, 605 motor river-vessels were introduced and three old airports put back in operation in restoration of domestic communications network. In addition, mines were swept from the ports of Chittagong and Mongla and they were made operative. The government nationalized 580 banks, insurance and industrial units abandoned by the Pakistanis and thus millions of workers got jobs.

Writing a progressive Constitution, ban on liquor, gambling, housie, horseracing and such other anti-Islamic activities, founding of Islamic Foundation, Madrassa Board, and Hajj Pilgrimage

Board and Bangladesh's membership of OIC were among some important achievements of Bangabandhu.

Rehabilitation of 10 million people, who returned from India and another 30 million who were displaced within the country, provision of food to them, pulling out of Indian troops within three months of independence, surrender of arms by freedom fighters, financial support to the families of 3 million martyrs of independence, taking up the responsibility of 200 thousand oppressed women, setting up of Freedom Fighters' Welfare Trust, Women Rehabilitation Board, government employee status to teachers, introduction of democratic ordinance for universities, formation of Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission, introduction of Bengali in all official work and at all national levels, establishment of 11,000 new primary schools, setting up of madrassas, mosques and Islamic Foundation, establishment of health centers in each thana and union of the country, absorbent of medical workers, opening of medical college and hospital, reorganization of defense forces with national honors including the National Army, Air Force and Navy, establishment of country's first military academy in Comilla, creation of infrastructure for Police, BDR, Ansar and civil administration, repatriation of 400,000 Bengalese from Pakistan, return of several hundred thousand Pakistanis to their country, enhancement of honor of the Bengali nation and its language, Bangabandhu's first U.N. speech in Bengali, recognition of Bangladesh by nearly 200 states, signing of border agreement with India and ensuring 44,000 cusec of water for Bangladesh under agreement with India-these were among the achievements of the Government headed by Bangabandhu.

In fine, based on above discussion we can say that, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has many contributions in

i. To established Bengalese rights in Pakistan period.

ii. The founder of independent Bangladesh.

iii. To emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country.

iv. To reconstruction of war affected Bangladesh after the liberation war.

v. To established friendly relations with foreign countries.

vi. To be a member of UN and other international agencies.

All Bangladeshi as well as world history never forget him. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is a golden character in the history of Bangladesh as well as in the mind of Bangladeshis. He never is died from the heart of Bangladeshis as well as from the world history. So is immortal. Thus we can prove that, Heroes live forever. As well as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lives forever in the mind of Bangladeshis as well as in the world history.

Bibliography

i. The class notes provided by our honorable course teacher Mr. Dr. Safar Ali Akanda.

ii. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (A Leader with a Difference) – by Obaidul Huq.

iii. www.albd.org

iv. www.britanica.com

v. www.historybd.com

আওয়ামী লীগের লক্ষ্য মানুষের অধিকার নিশ্চিত করা: প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

2012-06-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

আওয়ামী লীগের লক্ষ্য মানুষের অধিকার নিশ্চিত করা: প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

শনিবার | ২ জুন ২০১২ | ১৯ জ্যৈষ্ঠ ১৪১৯

প্রধানমন্ত্রী ও আওয়ামী লীগ সভাপতি শেখ হাসিনা বলেছেন, 'কিছু মানুষ আছেন, তারা বলেন- দেশের অবস্থা ভালো না। কেন ভালো না তা তারা বলতে পারেন না।' প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, 'আমরা গ্রামের মানুষের উন্নয়ন করছি। এটা তাদের ভালো লাগে না। এরা বিভিন্ন সরকারের সময়ই সুযোগ সুবিধা নিতে চায়। গ্রামের মানুষের উন্নয়নে তাদের পাওয়ায় বোধ হয় টান পড়ে। তাই তারা বলেন- দেশের অবস্থা ভালো না।' প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, 'তারা কি বিএনপি সরকারের সময়কার কথা ভুলে গেছেন? তখন প্রতিদিনই দেশে বোমা ফুটতো। ৬৩ জেলায় এক সঙ্গে বোমা ফুটেছিলো। বাংলা ভাইয়ের অত্যাচার-নির্যাতন বিশ্বে বাংলাদেশকে জঙ্গিবাদের দেশ হিসেবে পরিচিত করে তুলেছিলো। বাংলাদেশ এখন আর সেই জঙ্গিবাদের দেশ নেই। উন্নয়নের মডেল হিসেবে বাংলাদেশ পরিচয় লাভ করেছে।' শনিবার সকালে গণভবনে কুড়িগ্রাম জেলা আওয়ামী লীগের তৃণমূল নেতাদের সঙ্গে মতবিনিময়কালে তিনি এ কথা বলেন। প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, 'কিন্তু প্রতিদিন বোমা না ফাটলে বোধ হয় কিছু লোকের ভালো লাগে না। তাই তাদের মনে শান্তি নেই। মানুষ শান্তিতে থাকলে তারা অশান্তিতে থাকেন।' তিনি বলেন, 'বিএনপি আমলে যে অত্যাচার নির্যাতন হয়েছে সেটাও পত্রপত্রিকায় লেখা যেতো না। লিখলেই তাদের ওপর অত্যাচার-নির্যাতন নেমে আসতো। কিন্তু আমাদের সময় পত্রপত্রিকাগুলো স্বাধীনতা ভোগ করছে। সব কিছুই লিখতে পারছে। এমনকি ভুয়া তথ্য দিয়েও লেখালেখি হচ্ছে। এরপরও তারা বলছে- দেশের অবস্থা ভালো না। আসলে তারা মানুষের শান্তি চায় না।' 'আওয়ামী লীগের লক্ষ্য মানুষের অধিকার নিশ্চিত করা' মন্তব্য করে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, 'অগণতান্ত্রিক কোন শক্তি যাতে আর জনগণের ক্ষমতা কেড়ে নিতে না পারে সংবিধান সংশোধন করে সে অধিকার নিশ্চিত করেছি।' তিনি আরো বলেন, "যারা ভালো দেখেন না, তারা চান না মানুষ একটু ভালো থাকুক। জনগণ স্বস্তিতে থাকুক। আমরা যখন গরিব মানুষকে দিচ্ছি, তখন তাদের যত হা-হুতাশ। গ্রামের মানুষের কোনো হা-হুতাশ নেই।" "মিডিয়া টক'শোতে এক চিত্র, আর গ্রামে গেলে আরেক চিত্র," যোগ করেন শেখ হাসিনা।

সাম্প্রতিক সাংবাদিক নির্যাতনে সমালোচনার জবাবে তিনি বলেন, বিএনপি-জামায়াত নেতৃত্বাধীন চারদলীয় জোট সরকারের সময়ে ১৪ সাংবাদিক নিহত এবং ১ হাজার ৪০০ আহত হয়েছিল। "অনেক সাংবাদিককে চিরতরে পঙ্গু করে দেওয়া হয়েছে। অনেকে মামলা করতে পারেনি। আবার অনেকে নিজ এলাকাতেও থাকতে পারেনি। তখন পত্র-পত্রিকা আর ইলেকট্রনিক মিডিয়াতে সে খবর আসেনি।" বর্তমানে গণমাধ্যমের ওপর সরকারের কোনো নিয়ন্ত্রণ নেই জানিয়ে তিনি ইঙ্গিত করেছেন, এই স্বাধীনতার অপব্যবহারও হচ্ছে।"মিডিয়া এখন লিখছে। প্রতিদিন সরকারের বিরুদ্ধে না লিখেলে, তাদের পেটের ভাত হজম হয় না। সত্য, না মিথ্যা তা যাচাই করার দরকার নেই। তাদের লিখতেই হবে। আমি প্রতিদিন পত্রিকাগুলো দেখি। কিছু দাগ দিয়ে রাখি। সম্পূর্ণ ভুয়া নিউজ।"

তৃণমূল নেতাদের প্রতি তার পরামর্শ- "অনেক কথা শুনবেন। কিন্তু, নিজের ওপর আত্মবিশ্বাস রাখবেন।" মতবিনিময় সভায় প্রারম্ভিক বক্তব্যে সমালোচকদের সমালোচনার পাশাপাশি সরকারের উন্নয়ন কার্যক্রমও তুলে ধরেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী। তিনি বলেন, "কেউ খেটে খেতে চাইলে এখন কাজের অভাব নেই। আমরা কাজ করার সুযোগ করে দিচ্ছি। দেশের একটি মানুষও গৃহহারা থাকবে না।" সরকারের অর্জনগুলো জনগণের মধ্যে তুলে ধরার জন্য তৃণমূল নেতাদের প্রতি আহ্বান জানান আওয়ামী লীগ প্রধান। তিনি বলেন, "২০১২ সালের মধ্যে মধ্যম আয়ের দেশ হিসাবে আমরা আমাদের সুবর্ণজয়ন্তী পালন করতে পারব। এই বিশ্বাস আমরা আছে। আমরা এটা পারব।" "ষড়যন্ত্রের শিকার হয়েই আওয়ামী লীগ ২০০১ সালে ক্ষমতায় আসতে পারেনি। আওয়ামী লীগ গরিবের জন্য কাজ করে- তা অনেকের পছন্দ নয়। আওয়ামী লীগ তেলা মাথায় তেল ঢালতে পছন্দ করে না," বলেন শেখ হাসিনা।সভায় আওয়ামী লীগের সভাপতিম-লীর সদস্য মহীউদ্দীন খান আলমগীর, শেখ ফজলুল করিম সেলিম, আব্দুল লতিফ সিদ্দিকী, সাধারণ সাধারণ সম্পাদক সৈয়দ আশরাফুল ইসলাম, যুগ্ম সাধারণ সম্পাদক মাহাবুব-উল-আলম হানিফ, সংগঠনিক সম্পাদক খালিদ মাহমুদ চৌধুরী, উপ দপ্তর সম্পাদক মৃণাল কান্তি দাসও ছিলেন। এ সময় কুড়িগ্রাম জেলা আওয়ামী লীগের নেতারা উপস্থিত ছিলেন।

Millionaire BNP Ministers

2012-05-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Millionaire BNP Ministers

Summary: Corruption is the number one problem for Bangladesh. Transparency International in its annual report placed Bangladesh at the top of the list of most corrupt nations in the world. Certainly, it makes the politicians in Bangladesh, especially those in power, extremely uncomfortable and worried. It is apprehended that in the coming report of Transparency International, Bangladesh is going to be placed once again at the top. Although the ruling alliance in the country are making frantic bids in cleansing the image of Bangladesh, it is well understood that, international community are yet to be convinced to the fact that, Begum Khaleda Zia’s government is doing something in eliminating corruption from different section in the country. Only recently, an intelligence agency in the country identified 11 mid ranking officials with National Board of Revenue, who own 15 luxurious villas in countries port city of Chittagong, which costs US$ 2.5 million. It is important to mention here that, monthly salary of these officials is less than US$ 400 per month! Police and Customs (revenue) are the most corrupt departments in Bangladesh. Almost all the officers, on their retirement, emerge as multi-millionaire. They acquire wealth and properties in their own name of in the names of their spouses. It is almost an open secret in the country. Government also knows these facts, but is unable to take any action.

In recent days, names of some of the members of the BNP’s cabinet in Bangladesh come as the worst corrupts. They minted money like wild gambling. Sixty members of parliament rose complaint against a particular minister, while the Prime Minister Khaleda Zia did not take any action against him. It is also learnt that, many of the family members of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia are becoming fabulously rich, by using state power. The most talked about corrupt figure in Bangladesh is Tareq Rahman, eldest son of the Prime Minister. TAREQ BECAME BILLIONAIRE JUST IN FEW YEARS, WHILE MANY OF HIS FRIENDS, WHO WERE PARTNERS IN HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITIES OR IN THE ADDICTION OF PHENSIDYL ALSO BECAME VERY RICH UNDER THE DIRECT PATRONIZATION OF THE SON OF PM BEGUM KHALEDA ZIA.

Tareq has established Hawa Bhaban, which is although considered as one of the offices of the ruling party. There are solid evidences of this office’s involvement in interfering in almost all the business and contracts in the country. Hawa Bhaban palls are considered as the most influential figures in Bangladesh. One of the Hawa Bhaban palls is Giasuddin Mamun, who is tareq’s closest friend too. Hailing from an extreme poor family in the southern part of Bangladesh, Mamun is today one of the richest men in Bangladesh through various corruption, smuggling and many other forms of illegal activities.

Surprisingly one of the assistant press secretaries of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Touhidul Islam alias Ashik Islam is simultaneously working in the PMO as well in Hawa Bhaban as its spokesman. Moreover, this man is also involved with Tareq’s private television channel, Channel One. There are numerous allegations on Ashik’s involvement in a number of financial irregularities as well of misappropriating state money with various excuses, government did not take any action against this man, as he is considered to be one of the closest aides of Tareq Rahman. In the PMO too, Ashik is known as an womanizer, alcoholic, bribe taker and blackmailer. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was notified several times about this man’s illegal activities by country’s intelligence agencies. But, she could not take any action against Ashik, as Tareq always stood behind him with fullest support.

Khaleda’a own brother, Sayeed Iskander, who is a sacked major of Bangladesh army, also turned into multi-millionaire by using the influence of his sister. Sayeed runs a company named dandy Dying, which is a mere camouflage of his other activities. Behind the mask of Dandy Dying, Sayeed is involved in minting fabulous amount of cash through kick backs or other means; as well he is virtually active as the unseen defense advisor to the Prime Minister. No posting or promotion in the army is possible without his blessings or recommendations. Sayeed Iskander placed a number of his course-mates and even some of his close relatives in the sensitive and important positions in Bangladesh Army. A man with high political ambition, Sayeed is known to be one of the key conspirators in seizing power from Khaleda by using his grip in the armed forces. His ultimate goal is to become the future Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Khaleda’s late husband President Ziaur Rahman sacked Sayeed Iskander from Bangladesh Army for his alleged involvement in a number of corruption charges. Zia was one of the few honest figures in Bangladesh politics, who did not allow any of the members of his family to make money using state power. Not only that, Ziaur Rahman was the man, who did not interfere when both of his sons were ousted from St. Joseph School, which is considered one of the most prestigious schools in Dhaka. Zia’s sons were to leave this school because they turned to be duffers and extremely inattentive to their education. Tareq and his brother requested their daddy to readmit them in St. Joseph, when angry Ziaur Rahman said, “I am not in power to support inattentive sons of mine”.

The present government will finish its tenure this October. Meantime, names of most corrupt ministers are already coming in circulation, with figures of cash they minted during the five-year term of the BNP government since 2001. The corrupt ministers are:

	Name of Minister	Amount Earned in U$
01	Barrister Nazmul Huda	0.5 billion
02	Mirza Abbas	43 Million
03	Begum Khurshid Jahan Haque (sister of PM)	40 Million
04	Tariqul Islam	38 million
05	Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan	35 million
06	Salahuddin Ahmed	32 million
07	Barrister Aminul Huq	31 million
08	Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf	30 million
09	Altaf Hussain Chowdhury	28 million
10	Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku	26 million
11	Dr. Khandekar Musharraf Hussain	25 million
12	Barkatulla Bulu	24 million
13	Abdullah Al Noman	23 million
14	Lt. Col Akber Hussain	22 million
15	Major (Retired) Qamrul Islam	21 million
16	Shajahan Siraj	20 million
17	Advocate Gautam Chakrabarty	17 million
18	Amanullah Aman	15 million
19	Ziaul Haque Zia	14 million
20	Jafrul Islam Chowdhury	13 million
21	ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon	11 million
22	Asadul Habib Dulu	10 million
23	Fazlur Rahman Patal	9 million
24	Advocate Ruhul Quddus Talikder Dulu	8 million
25	Lutfur Rahman Khan Azad	6 million

Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman is although considered to be a clean man, his sons are engaged in minting money by using the influence of their father. His sons are involved in several businesses like multi-level marketing (a company, which just disappeared after taking a few million dollars from the innocent people), customs clearing and forwarding business (this company is handling most of the big businesses in the country, just because, finance minister’s sons are partners in the business), readymade garments (smuggling of narcotics are done under the cover of this business) etc.

Dr. Peter Snowman
34 Bay Side Ave
New York City
USA

Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the same : Advocate Shahara Khatun

2012-02-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

Home affairs minister Advocate Sahara Khatun said that the masterminds of the killing of Bangabandhu in 1975, the grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 21 and the attempt to smuggle 10 truckloads of arms in 2004 have been masterminded by the same group and followers of the same ideology. ‘The Pakistanis wanted to kill Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman several times during their reign so their associates killed him, along with most of his family, in independent Bangladesh,’ she said while addressing a roundtable on ‘The national mourning day, grenade attack on August 21 and Chittagong arms haul — in quest of the godfathers’ at Dhanmondi. The roundtable, chaired by Justice Golam Rabbani, was organized by the Heritage Foundation of Bangladesh.It was addressed by chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry Suranjit Sengupta, state minister for law Qamrul Islam, former state minister Abul Hassan Chowdhury, former ambassador Waliur Rahman, former secretary Syed Rezaul Hayat and Dr Syed Anwar Hossain, along with others. Farhad Hossain, associate professor of the English department of Mohammadpur Kendrio Biswabiddalaya College, and Mamun-ur-Rashid, senior reporter of the daily Janakantha, read out separate keynote papers at the round table. Sahara Khatun said that the national trauma has been partially cured by the execution of the five killers of Bangabandhu on January 27 this year. Notices have already been issued through Interpol to find the six fugitive killers and they must be brought back within the shortest possible time, she said, adding that the godfathers behind the killing of Bangabandhu are still active inside and outside the country. Those godfathers were behind the grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 21 August, 2004 because they wanted to destroy the leadership of Awami League to complete their earlier mission, said Sahara, adding that the same group tried to smuggled 10 truckloads of arms into the country for launching widespread destructive operations in Bangladesh. She said that the anti-liberation forces defeated in 1971 have been putting up obstructions to stop the trial of war criminals and urged all to be careful and united against these embittered militant forces. Suranjit Sengupta said that counter-revolutionary forces killed Bangabandhu in 1975, and later their leader General Zia tried to turn the country into a mini-Pakistan in the name of multi-party democracy. Terming the present time as very crucial, he called upon all the pro-liberation forces to be united against those godfathers and their associates who are still active in many ways and under many banners. State minister for law Qamrul Islam said that the killers of Bangabandhu had tried to demolish the spirit of the liberation war in order to reunite the country with Pakistan in line with the two-nation theory. Accusing General Zia of being involved in the killing of Bangabandhu, the state minister alleged that his wife Khaleda Zia had also tried to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and most of the senior Awami League leaders by launching the grenade attack on 21 August, 2004. Terming General Zia as an ‘intruder’ in the liberation war, he said that after the killing of Bangabandhu, Zia proved his anti-liberation stance by sheltering Bangabandhu’s killers, rehabilitating Razakars like Shah Aziz into politics and killing hundreds of freedom-fighters in the army like Colonel Abu Taher Bir Uttam. Accusing former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar of masterminding the grenade attack on 21 August, 2004, Qamrul said that the forces that killed Bangabandhu in 1975 and tried to smuggle arms through the CUFL’s jetty in Chittagong were the same.

Masterminds of ‘75 killings, Aug 21 attack the same : Advocate Shahara Khatun, Minister for Home Affairs

THE GRENADE ATTACK ON SHEIKH HASINA: THE WHY AND HOW OF A NEUTRAL INVESTIGATION

The Attack and the Immediate Reaction

The Background and the Attack of 21 August

Since the BNP-Jamat alliance came to power nearly three years ago terrorism got a new lease of life in the country. Under the patronage of the ruling parties violence directed against the members of minority communities and against opposition forces flourished and threat to the life of Sheikh Hasina increased exponentially.Before the end of 2001 they annulled the law on security for Sheikh Hasina and her sister and withdrew the protection provided by the SSF. Because of constant threat on the lives of the only surviving children of the Father of the Nation such a law was enacted in 2001 prior to Sheikh Hasina’s completion of term as the Prime Minister. A General Diary entry made in a police station on 30 November 2001 recorded by Sohail Taj, newly elected MP of Kapasia, stated that in view of the threat on the lives of the members of the family of the Father of the Nation this annulment of the law would prompt conspiracy by evil terrorist forces to assassinate them and attempt murder. How prophetic was the perception of the young MP!

In actual fact since 2002 four assassination attempts have been made on Sheikh Hasina’s life. At first at Naogaon on 4 March 2002, second on 29 August 2003 at Satkhira, third on 26 February 2004 at Barisal Ferryghat and the next on 2 April at Gournadi. On every occasion proper attention of the government was drawn and protection sought. Almost invariably armed cadres of BNP were involved in these attacks. On 5 July 2004 when she was on tour at Istanbul in Turkey she was threatened on telephone both at Istanbul and at Dhaka. As usual the government was requested to investigate and take precautionary measures. But the government followed the policy of benign neglect and Khaleda Zia instead joked about it in parliament.The most violent grenade attack on 21 August was the culmination of all these incidents and it happened in broad daylight in the presence of hundreds of security personnel and in a crowded public rally. A series of grenades were thrown and several rounds of gunfire followed it and the criminals escaped unharmed and undetected. The police it seemed helped them to flee by clubbing and tear gassing the milling crowd.

The legitimate question is what were the security personnel engaged in protecting the Leader of the Opposition and other officials deployed for the rally doing? How did all the intelligence agencies fail to cope with the situation? Is it utter incompetence or criminal negligence? Or is it complicity of the government in the preplanned and well-rehearsed assassination attempt?Let us look at the allegation of complicity of the government. The spread of violence, the growth of extremist groups and the record of investigation of the last three years may first be examined to find some clues. Then we can look at the developments since the attack.

Spread of ViolenceIncidents of violence involving use of explosives began in 1999 and it was thought that the intention was destabilization of the polity as well as the economy of the country. A list of all these incidents is provided below. During AL period there were seven incidents of bomb blast, two in the last month of its term. Investigation on two incidents resulted in submission of charge sheet against accused persons and trials were about to begin. Help from FBI was also sought in one of these cases. In connection with two other incidents investigations led to arrests of a few suspects. On three other incidents, including the two latest ones, investigation was incomplete. Thus there is no truth in the allegation that these cases were not investigated properly. We shall soon find out how all the cases and investigations have been derailed or halted by Khaleda-Nizami junta.

In three months of Caretaker government there were three more cases. The junta has closed two cases failing to find any accused person and only one case is still under investigation. The Caretaker government dealt conclusively with only one incident that took place earlier. They closed investigation on Khulna Ahmadiya incident by submitting a final report on 23 August 2001.During BNP-Jamat rule of three years there has been 8 incidents of bomb blasts and 4 more of grenade throw. There are also several cases of seizure of cachet of arms and explosives. Investigations started by AL government were either halted or started afresh by the BNP-Jamat junta. In the Udichi case 24 persons were charge sheeted. BNP-Jamat government withdrew the charge against one of the main accused Tariqul Islam, alleged to have links with underground terrorist groups of south Bangladesh, and made him a Minister. In the Kotalipara case 15 persons were charge sheeted and one of the main accused Mufti Hannan was let off and reportedly he is abroad now. All action on the case stands stayed. The CPB case also a final report has closed the case. Action on three other cases has been held up on the plea of fresh investigation against new accused persons. Of the three incidents occurring during Caretaker regime two have already been closed by the junta by submitting final reports. It seems that the junta is following a policy of closing all cases submitting final reports that say that the case is true but criminals are not traceable. What can be a better way of shielding the criminals after fishing in troubled waters in wrong directions!

As far as the later twelve incidents are concerned in only two cases – Sakhipur and Dinajpur incidents charge sheets have been submitted and all the rest are under investigation. In one of them involving attack on British High Commissioner Scotland Yard came to look into the matter but there is no news on what they did or what advice they tendered.The junta’s position on all the cases is that the Awami League and its followers were responsible for the incidents and they tried unsuccessfully to get this conclusion certified by a judicial commission headed by a former Judge A Bari Sarkar. Incidentally the report had to be trashed because of the partisan views and extra-judicial inferences of Bari Sarkar. In another case of Gulshan Hotel Sylhet they arrested an expatriate Bengali Nunu Mia because of his AL connections and tortured him in custody but let him off after his MP from UK asked for proper investigation The junta in each case actually shields the culprits by pointing the accusing finger at AL leaders and workers. There are three important points to ponder over. First, all acts of violence were directed at secular and progressive institutions and Awami League or forces supporting Awami League. Second, none of the attacks targeted any BNP or Jamat rallies or their leaders and workers. Third, the frequency of such incidents increased from about the time of transfer of power by AL government, to be precise there have been 15 incidents since June 2001.

A tabular review of the major incidents of violence since 1999 is provided below:

Date of the case	Deaths	Place	State of Investigation
AL Period Bomb blasts
1. 7 March 1999	10	Jessore Udichi conference	Charge-sheet submitted against 24 accused persons during AL time on 14 December 1999. Appeal lodged in the High Court Division to quash the case was dismissed. After the junta took over accused Tariqul Islam (now Minister) was let off by the Appellate Division. The trial has since been halted and no further information is available.
2. 8 October 1999	8	Khulna Ahmadiya mosque	The case was under investigation and the Caretaker government submitted final report closing it on 23 August 2001.
3. 20 July 2000	0	Kotalipara helipad Gopalganj	FBI called and charge-sheet submitted against 19 accused persons during AL time on 8 April 2001. The junta bailed out accused Mufti Hannan (a leader of the junta) and halted further proceedings. Mufti Hannan was earlier charge-sheeted in another explosives case on 25 January 2001. No further progress.
4. 20 January 2001	7	Dhaka CPB conference at Paltan Maidan	Investigations led to arrest of 12 suspects. Final report closing the case was submitted by the junta on 17 December 2003.
5. 14 April 2001	11	Ramna Batamul Dhaka	Two cases filed during AL time and 12 suspects arrested. But the junta ordered reinvestigation. No progress since then.
6. 3 June 2001	10	Gopalganj church at Moksedpur	Two cases filed during AL time. The junta ordered reinvestigation. No progress since then.
7. 16 June 2001	22	Narayanganj AL office	Three cases filed during AL time. Two cases have been closed by the junta and final reports submitted on 27 January 2003. The other case has been halted for six months on 17 July 2004.
Caretaker Period Bomb blasts
1. 3 September 2001	8	Bagerhat AL rally at Mollahat	Case has been close and final report submitted on 7 December 2003.
2. 27 September 2001	4	Targeting Sylhet AL meeting	Under investigation.
3. 28 September 2001	3	Satkhira fair, Cinema hall & Lions Circus pandel	Case close and final report submitted 0n 31 January 2004.
BNP-Jamat Period Bomb blasts
1. 7 December 2002	27	Mymensingh four Cinema halls	AL leaders, intellectuals and journalists arrested and tortured. But Judicial enquiry exonerated political activists. Investigation proceeding in slow pace.
2. 17 January 2003	7	Sakhipur carnival Tangail	Investigation led to submission of charge sheet against 7 accused on 30 June 2003. But little progress thereafter.
3. 13 February 2003	0	Dinajpur	Charge-sheet submitted against 4 accused persons on 25 May 2004.
4. 13 January 2004	5	Shah Jalal Mazar Sylhet	No progress
5. 28 January 2004	2	Narayanganj Mela	No progress
6. 21 February 2004	0	Language day meet Mymensingh	No progress
7. 5 August 2004	1	Sylhet three Cinema halls	No progress
8. 5 September 2004	2	Sylhet Cantonment area	No progress
Grenade attack
9. 21 May 2004	5	Shah Jalal Mosque Sylhet. UK HC targeted.	No progress
10. 21 June 2004	3	AL meeting in Derai Sunamganj. S Sengupta MP targeted.	No progress
11.7 August 2004	1	Gulshan AL Meeting Sylhet. Mayor targeted.	Fishing for clues
12. 21 August 2004	23	Bangabandhu Ave AL office. Sk Hasina targeted.	Fishing for clues

· On 8 March 1999 in a public meeting in Dhaka Fazlul Huq Amini (now an Alliance MP) thundered, “I am a follower of Osama bin Laden, I am a Taliban. Crores of Taliban are in this country. Hence like Afghanistan here also will be Taliban revolution.” There were others to beat the same drum. They have never recanted or revised their position.

· Sohrab Khan a leader of Hijbut Towhid was arrested on 19 September 2001 in south Bangladesh. He was released and rearrested on 17 June 2002. This group is active in Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah, Barisal, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Tangail, Narayanganj, Sylhet and Chittagong. They not only preach violence but also attack villages and kills people. But there is no attempt to curb their activities.

· On 20 May 2002 the police nabbed a group of eight extremist of Jamatul Mujahidin in Dinajpur, supposed to be linked to Kashmiri and Taliban extremists. They were enlarged on bail and soon afterwards another group of five was arrested in Bagerhat with a huge cachet of explosives, who admitted that they wanted to kill an Awami League leader. They were also released after a while. The bomb blast in Dinajpur on 13 February 2003 was also traced to this group but no arrests were made. Then followed the big haul in Chapai Nawabganj on 11 March 2003 of both arms and activists. But this Jamat is active in many districts such as Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Gaibandha, Joypurhat, Bogra, Naogaon, Chapai Nawabganj, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj & Bagerhat.

· On 6 December 2002 Khatib of Baitul Mokarram Obaidul Huq, recalled from retirement by the junta, sermonized that celebration of the Bengali New Year’s Day is not for Muslims. He also makes outlandish remarks about destroying other countries and ostracizing Qadiyanis. He is a favourite of Khaleda Zia.

· On 8 February 2003 one Kawsar Siddiqi held a press conference in Rajshahi announcing the emergence of Shahadat al Hikma organized in military formations with the avowed purpose of defying the core values of Bangladesh. This group claiming 36,000 trained volunteers preached straightforward sedition and the patronizing government had difficulty in holding them in check.

· The month of May 2004 was full of stories on exploits of one Azizur Rahman alias Siddiqur Rahman better known as Bangla Bhai. With the support of police he created havoc in north Bangladesh in the name of punishing the so-called communist Sarbaharas. The Prime Minister ordered his arrest but the Jamat Minister Nizami announced that he was a mythical figure and the scoundrel is still functioning executing his extreme laws of brutal killing, arson and destruction.

· All political murders in Khulna or Jessore are attributed to Janajuddaha, a clandestine extremist cadre. It is reported that a terrorist arrested by AL government by making a deal with some powerful leaders of the BNP-Jamat Alliance escaped captivity. Very soon his reincarnation meant the emergence of Janajuddha.

Progress in investigation of incidents of violence

Government Performance after the Attack

· Far from experiencing shock and grief on this tragic and somber occasion the government tried to throttle natural expression of condolence and grief. They beat up condolence processions and meetings all over the country. They even disgraced the last religious rites (i.e. JANAZA) of the dead people by deliberately delaying the delivery of dead bodies and possibly secreted some dead bodies as well. Janaza of respected national leader Ivy Rahman could not be held at her hometown because of violent resistance by BNP goons backed up by the police.

· Khaleda Zia and others of the government issued statements condoling the death of the victims of the attack and sympathizing with their relations, friends and colleagues. But strangely although the entire nation thought so the ruling junta never acknowledged that it was an attempt on Sheikh Hasina’s life. They emphasized only the destabilizing impact of the attack. Khaleda Zia as per news reports even chided her coalition partners for condemning the attack on Sheikh Hasina. Then Khaleda Zia, apparently on second thought, staged a public relations gimmick of calling on Sheikh Hasina. The wish was expressed with great fanfare to the press before it was made to the victim. Is not it a little weird that the statement on the so-called desire for a meeting should be so drafted as to annoy Sheikh Hasina and then the fiasco about visiting her should be carefully orchestrated? Interestingly the press was given the statement well before it was faxed to Sheikh Hasina. Could not one surmise under the circumstances that the government thinks that if Hitler, Mussolini or Salazar could achieve so much without the existence of so powerful media and so destructive weapons of suppression, for them equipped with modern tools the sky is the limit for goebelian lies and high handed operations?

· The government has taken some steps against petty employees for dereliction of duty in connection with the grenade attack. But just look at the people against whom action has been taken. 10 prison guards have been suspended because they could not explain how a grenade was found within the walled jail compound. For failure to give due importance to the news the Director General of BTV has been made an OSD and the Producer has been suspended. An intelligence failure of such magnitude and a security mess in the presence of hundreds of policemen on duty do not seem to have registered with the government. No action has been taken against the State Minister for Home, the Home Secretary, the Inspector General of Police, the Dhaka Police Commissioner or the Heads of Intelligence Agencies or Police Officers in charge of the event. Nor has anyone of them offered to resign. Not even anyone in charge of various services at the place of occurrence has been closed or transferred to facilitate unbiased investigation.

· Then to hoodwink the people they set up a commission of enquiry with one Judge of questionable neutrality, who was even rejected by the Supreme Court lawyers association. Rejected by the political opposition and by the lawyers of the Supreme Court this Judge without any sense of honour went ahead with his enquiry. His publicity campaign before and after submitting his report only confirms his partisan nature and his habit of making unsubstantiated political statement. On the other hand the Supreme Court Bar association set up a commission of its own but the government is not giving them any quarters yet.

· In order to further deceive the people they sought assistance from Interpol. Interpol is a federation of all police forces of the world and they can provide technical assistance to any member country by drawing on the pooled resources of the world. But they work as directed and supervised by the host government. Surely they make their own judgment but it is obviously based on what they get to know from their hosts. They also report to their hosts. This could be a good investigation but since the government draws the terms of reference, the government provides the facts and information and the government decides what to do with their views and reports this cannot by any stretch of imagination be a neutral investigation.

· If a proper and neutral enquiry was really wanted or if a competent investigation was really desired there were ways to do it. In the first instance in this climate of mistrust and questionable credentials of the government the enquiry should have been finalized in consultation with the Opposition. The investigation should have been started forthwith with superintendence vested in some bipartisan authority. Many other ways could be thought of to give due importance to the catastrophe and ensure a national response.

· Instead a normal investigation was launched and it could not be more incompetent or more inefficient. As per newspaper reports for five days the investigating team did not visit the place of occurrence nor did they inspect the bullet struck vehicle till much later. Then they collected exhibits from the place of occurrence from AL workers and volunteers who preserved them and it is now well known that they have not only contaminated them but also destroyed some of them. They removed the truck that was converted into the podium and handed it back to the owner, possibly to wipe off all useful evidence. They seized all videotapes on the incident and what is the guarantee that they have not doctored them? It is not known if they instantaneously interrogated any eye-witnesses or suspects except one of their own who was on security duty with Sheikh Hasina. It is reported that the Interpol teams were shocked by the appalling incompetence of the investigation.

A Proper and Neutral Enquiry & Investigation

Newsletter। Vol. 3, No. 17, October07, 2004

Bangladesh Awami League Publication

http://misrulesofbnpjamat.webnode.com/

হাওয়া ভবন এ দেশের জনগণের কাছে নৈরাজ্যের প্রতীক: আওয়ামী লীগ নেতৃবৃন্দ

2011-10-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

খালেদা জিয়া যত বিরোধিতাই করুন যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার অবশ্যই হবে : আওয়ামী লীগ নেতৃবৃন্দ

হাওয়া ভবন এ দেশের জনগণের কাছে নৈরাজ্যের প্রতীক: আওয়ামী লীগ নেতৃবৃন্দ

১৬ অক্টোবর ২০১১ | ১ কার্তিক ১৪১৮

আওয়ামী লীগ সভাপতিমন্ডলীর সদস্য ড. মহীউদ্দীন খান আলমগীর এমপি বলেছেন, বন্দুকের নলে বিএনপির জন্ম বলেই তারা জনগণের ক্ষমতায়নে বিশ্বাস করে না। তারা বিশ্বাস করে স্বৈরতন্ত্রে। আর সে কারণেই বিএনপিকে দিয়ে গণতন্ত্র প্রতিষ্ঠিত হবে তা কখনই আশা করা যায় না।ড. মহীউদ্দীন খান আলমগীর বলেন, বিরোধীদলীয় নেতা খালেদা জিয়া যত বিরোধিতাই করুন যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার বাংলার মাটিতে অবশ্যই হবে। বাংলাদেশকে যুদ্ধাপরাধীর অভয়ারণ্য হতে দেয়া হবে না উলেস্নখ করে তিনি বলেন, বিশ্বের সব দেশেই যুদ্ধাপরাধীর বিচার হয়েছে। বাংলাদেশেও বিচার হবে। কিন্তু স্বাধীনতাবিরোধী শক্তি যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষা করতে দেশ-বিদেশে নানা ষড়যন্ত্র শুরু করেছে।

শনিবার দুপুরে ঢাকা রিপোর্টার্স ইউনিটি মিলনায়তনে বঙ্গবন্ধু পেশাজীবী পরিষদ আয়োজিত 'জনগণের ৰমতায়ন প্রেৰিত বাংলাদেশে : প্রসঙ্গ ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ ভিশন-২০১১' শীর্ষক আলোচনাসভায় বক্তব্য রাখতে গিয়ে তাঁরা এসব কথা বলেন। সংগঠনের সভাপতি জহির উদ্দিনের সভাপতিত্বে সভায় আরও বক্তব্য রাখেন আওয়ামী লীগের সভাপতিম-লীর সদস্য এ্যাডভোকেট ইউসুফ হোসেন হুমায়ুন, মহানগর আওয়ামী লীগের সাধারণ সম্পাদক মোফাজ্জল হোসেন চৌধুরী মায়া বীরবিক্রম, আওয়ামী লীগের কেন্দ্রীয় সাংগঠনিক সম্পাদক আহমদ হোসেন প্রমুখ।

বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগের কেন্দ্রীয় নেতা সাবেক স্বরাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী মোহাম্মদ নাসিম বলেছেন, বিএনপি-জামাতের শাসনামলে দেশে কোনো উন্নয়ন হয়নি। খালেদা জিয়া বুঝতে পেরেছেন মহাজোট সরকার ক্ষমতার মেয়াদ পূর্ণ করলে তাদের সব নির্বাচনী ওয়াদা পূরণ করতে সক্ষম হবে। আর এ জন্য জনগণকে বিভ্রান্ত করতে বিলাসবহুল গাড়ি নিয়ে কোটি কোটি টাকা ব্যয় করে রোড মার্চ করে নতুন নেতৃত্বের নামে দুর্নীতিবাজদের পুনর্বাসন করতে হুমকি-ধমকি দিচ্ছেন। তিনি আরও বলেন, হাওয়া ভবন এ দেশের জনগণের কাছে নৈরাজ্যের প্রতীক। আগামী নির্বাচন অন্তবর্তীকালীন সরকারের অধীন নিরপেক্ষ নির্বাচন কমিশনের মাধ্যমেই হবে। বিরোধী দলকে নির্বাচন মিশনকে শক্তিশালী করতে সংসদে এসে গঠনমূলক প্রস্তাব দেওয়ার আহ্বান জানান।

তিনি গতকাল শনিবার তাড়াশ দলিল লেখক সমিতির হলরুমে উপজেলা আওয়ামী লীগ সভাপতি ও উপজেলা চেয়ারম্যান আলহাজ গাজী ম ম আমজাদ হোসেন মিলনের সভাপতিত্বে দলের বর্ধিত সভায় প্রধান অতিথির বক্তব্যে জোট সরকারের আমলে জঙ্গিবাদের উত্থানের সমালোচনা করে বলেন, জোট সরকার ক্ষমতায় থাকলে লাদেনরূপী জঙ্গিদের পাকিস্তানে নয়, এ দেশেই পাওয়া যেত। দিনব্যাপী ওই বর্ধিত সভায় বিশেষ অতিথি ছিলেন স্থানীয় সাংসদ আলহাজ গাজী ইসহাক হোসেন তালুকদার।

আইন প্রতিমন্ত্রী অ্যাডভোকেট কামরুল ইসলাম বলেছেন, জামায়াত ছাড়া বিরোধীদলীয় নেতা খালেদা জিয়ার কোনো অস্তিত্বই নেই। এজন্য ওই যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বাঁচাতে বেপরোয়া হয়ে মাঠে নেমেছেন তিনি। যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষার আন্দোলন-সংগ্রামের নামে যারা দেশকে অস্থিতিশীল করতে চায়, ঐক্যবদ্ধভাবেই তাদের সব ষড়যন্ত্রের বিষদাঁত ভেঙে দেওয়া হবে।

আইন প্রতিমন্ত্রী শনিবার রাজধানীর খিলগাঁও চৌরাস্তায় যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার নস্যাৎ করতে জামায়াত-বিএনপির জ্বালাও-পোড়াও ও ধ্বংসাত্মক কর্মকাণ্ডের প্রতিবাদে খিলগাঁও-সবুজবাগ-রামপুরা থানা যুবলীগ আয়োজিত প্রতিবাদ ও বিক্ষোভ সমাবেশে এসব কথা বলেন। তিনি আরও বলেন, খালেদা জিয়া তথাকথিত নতুন নেতৃত্বের নামে দুর্নীতিবাজ ছেলেদের হাতে ক্ষমতা হস্তান্তরের স্বপ্ন দেখছেন। তার এ স্বপ্ন কখনোই পূরণ হওয়ার নয়। এ দেশের জনগণ স্বাধীনতাবিরোধীদের আর ক্ষমতায় আসতে দেবে না।

Fugitive killers must be brought back : PM Sheikh Hasina

2011-10-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

Fugitive killers must be brought back : PM Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said the six fugitive Bangabandhu killers must be brought back to the country and hanged subsequently.

The prime minister called upon the grass-root level activists to strengthen their activities and work sincerely for implementing the election manifesto. "Everybody will have to be alert as conspiracies to destroy the democracy are on,"

Six killers stay out of reach

None of the remaining six convicted killers of Bangabandhu, now holed up in different countries, could be brought back yet despite Bangladesh government's diplomatic manoeuvres.

The government even does not yet have specific information about the whereabouts of a number of the absconding killers because of their frequent change of location. It already sought assistance from the Interpol in this regard, but for no result. Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, however, yesterday claimed that the government has information about the fugitives and is working to bring them back to face justice.

The six absconding killers are Lt Col (dismissed) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (relieved) Shariful Haque Dalim, Lt Col (retd) Nur Chowdhury, Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, Capt Abdul Mazed and Risalder Moslehuddin.

Five of the 12 convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were executed early yesterday at Dhaka Central Jail. Another convict, Aziz Pasha, died in Zimbabwe in 2002.

Sources in the administration and intelligence agencies said the government has specific information about two of the six absconding convicts. Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury now resides in the USA and is trying for getting political asylum in Canada, they said. Another convict Lt Col (retd) Nur Chowdhury, after a long stay in Germany, has also sought political asylum in Canada. No specific information regarding the locations of four others is available, but different sources say they are hiding in Libya, Pakistan, Kenya and Hong Kong.

শিশুদের কুসুম-কোমল মনে প্রভাব ফেলতে পারে- এমন ছবি বা সংবাদ প্রচার:শেখ হাসিনা

2011-10-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

শিশুদের কুসুম-কোমল মনে প্রভাব ফেলতে পারে- এমন ছবি বা সংবাদ প্রচার:শেখ হাসিনা

শিশুদের কুসুম-কোমল মনে প্রভাব ফেলতে পারে- এমন ছবি বা সংবাদ প্রচার না করার জন্য গণমাধ্যমের প্রতি আহ্বান জানিয়ে একই সঙ্গে শিশুদের সার্বিক উন্নয়নে সবার মন-মানসিকতার পরিবর্তনের আহ্বান জানিয়েছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা।

আজ সোমবার সকালে রাজধানীর ওসমানী স্মৃতি মিলনায়তনে বিশ্ব শিশু দিবস ও শিশু অধিকার সপ্তাহ-২০১০ উপলে সপ্তাহব্যাপী কর্মসূচির উদ্বোধন করতে গিয়ে তিনি এই আহবান জানান।

মহিলা ও শিশু বিষয়ক মন্ত্রণালয় আয়োজিত এ অনুষ্ঠানে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, ‘আমরা ২০১১ সালের মধ্যে শতভাগ শিশুকে বিদ্যালয়ে নিয়ে আসার ল্যমাত্রা নির্ধারণ করেছি। গত বছর প্রাথমিক থেকে মাধ্যমিক পর্যন্ত বিনামূল্যে ১৯ কোটি বই বিতরণ করা হয়েছে।’

শিশুদের আরও বেশিমাত্রায় স্কুলমুখী করতে সামনের বছর বিনামূল্যে ২৩ কোটি বই ১৯ করা হবে বলে তিনি ঘোষণা করেন।

স্কুলে দুপুরে খাবারের ব্যবস্থা করা হলে শিশুরা স্কুলে যেতে আরও আগ্রহী হবে উল্লেখ করে এ বিষয়ে ইউনিসেফের সহায়তা কামনা করেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী।

এসব উদ্যোগের ফলে প্রাথমিক থেকে উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক পর্যন্ত শিার্থীর হার বৃদ্ধি পাবে বলে তিনি মন্তব্য করেন।

তিনি শিশুদের জন্য আরও কার্যকর উদ্যোগ গ্রহণে অভিভাবক, সমাজের সামর্থ্যবান ব্যক্তি ও শিশু কল্যাণে নিবেদিত সরকারি-বেসরকারি প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোর প্রতি আহ্বান জানান।

তিনি বলেন, ‘শুধু আইন ও সনদ দিয়ে শিশুদের সার্বিক উন্নয়ন সম্ভব নয়।’ এজন্য সবার মন-মানসিকতায় পরিবর্তন আনার আহ্বান জানান তিনি।

‘শিশুদের মনে প্রভাব ফেলতে পারে' এমন ছবি বা সংবাদ প্রচার করবেন না’ গণমাধ্যম কর্মীদের প্রতি এ আহ্বান জানান প্রধানমন্ত্রী। এছাড়া শিশুতোষ চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাণে এগিয়ে আসার আহ্বান জানিয়ে চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাতাদের উদ্দেশ্যে তিনি বলেন, ‘বছরে অন্তত একটি শিশুতোষ চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাণ করুন।’

রাজনৈতিক কর্মকাণ্ডে কোমলমতি শিশুদের ব্যবহার না করার আহ্বান জানিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, ‘এ ব্যাপারে প্রয়োজনীয় পদপে নেওয়া হবে।’ দলের নির্বাচনী অঙ্গীকারে শিশুশ্রম বন্ধের কথা স্মরণ করে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, ‘পর্যায়ক্রমে সব খাত থেকে শিশুশ্রম বিলোপ করব।’ ‘ইতিমধ্যেই শহরাঞ্চলের কর্মজীবী শিশুদের জন্য কর্মভিত্তিক শিা ব্যবস্থা চালু করেছি’ উল্লেখ করে প্রধানমন্ত্রী জানান, শিশু অধিকার নিশ্চিত করতে সরকার জাতীয় শিশু নীতি-২০১০ এর খসড়া প্রকাশ করেছে। সমাজের সব শ্রেণী ও পেশার মানুষের মতামতের ভিত্তিতে জাতীয় শিশু নীতি চূড়ান্ত করা হবে।

তিনি বলেন, ‘শিশুরা জাতির বড় সম্পদ। তাদের বেড়ে ওঠার স্বাভাবিক পরিবেশ নিশ্চিত করা গেলে আজকের শিশুই আগামী দিনে দেশ ও জাতির কল্যাণে আত্মনিয়োগ করবে।’ শিশুদের সামনে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের সঠিক ইতিহাস তুলে ধরতে যথাযথ পদপে নেওয়ার কথাও জানান প্রধানমন্ত্রী।এছাড়া প্রতিবন্ধী ও অটিস্টিক শিশুদের প্রতি সবাইকে মনোযোগী হওয়ার আহ্বান জানিয়ে তিনি বলেন, ‘তাদেরকে বোঝা হিসেবে না ভেবে সমাজের মূলধারায় ফিরিয়ে আনতে হবে। তাদের মানসিক বিকাশের সুযোগ তৈরি করতে হবে।’

সরকারি চাকরিতে প্রতিবন্ধীদের জন্য বয়সসীমা ৪০ বছর নির্ধারণ করার কথা জানান তিনি। নারী শিার উন্নয়নে মহাজোট সরকারের নেওয়া বিভিন্ন পদেক্ষেপর সাফল্য তুলে ধরতে গিয়ে তিনি জানান, উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক শ্রেণী পর্যন্ত মেয়েদের বিনা বেতনে শিক্ষার সুযোগ সৃষ্টিসহ প্রাথমিক, মাধ্যমিক ও উচ্চ মাধ্যমিক পর্যায়ে মেয়েদের বৃত্তি প্রদান করা হচ্ছে।

Speech of Sheikh Hasina at UN

2011-10-04T02:11:00.000-07:00

প্রধানমন্ত্রীর নির্দেশে ফ্রি টিকিটে হজে গেলেন প্রতারিত ৪৩৫ জন

প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনার নিদের্শে হাজি ক্যাম্পে আটকেপড়া ৪৩৫ জন হজযাত্রী বিনামূল্যের টিকিট নিয়ে সুযোগ পেলেন হজে যাওয়ার। সউদিয়া এরাবিয়ান এয়ারলাইন্সে’র শেষ পর্যায়ের কয়েকটি হজ ফ্লাইট যোগে আটকেপরা হজযাত্রীরা হজে গেলেন।

গতকাল বেলা ২টার দিকে সরকারি উদ্যোগে সানজুরি ট্যুরস অ্যান্ড ট্রাভেলসের মাধ্যমে সউদিয়ার হজ ফ্লাইটের ক্রয়কৃত ১৭৪টি টিকিট হাজি ক্যাম্পে পৌঁছলে প্রতারিত পুরুষ-মহিলা হজযাত্রীরা মহান আল্লাহর কাছে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর জন্য হাত তুলে দোয়া করেন। মঙ্গলবার দুপুর ১২টা ৩৫ মিনিটে সউদিয়া এয়ারলাইন্সের সর্বশেষ হজ ফ্লাইট (এস ভি-৫২০৫) ৪৫০জন হজযাত্রী নিয়ে জেদ্দার উদ্দেশে ঢাকা ত্যাগ করে।

শিশুরাই দিনবদলের কারিগর: প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

2011-10-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

শিশুরাই দিনবদলের কারিগর: প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

৩ অক্টোবর ২০১১, ১৮ আশ্বিন ১৪১৮

শিশুদের দিনবদলের কারিগর হিসেবে অভিহিত করে তাদের সুন্দর ভবিষ্যতের জন্য সবাইকে সম্মিলিতভাবে কাজ করার আহ্বান জানিয়েছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা। শিশুদের ওপর পাঠ্যপুস্তক বোঝা যেন বোঝা হয়ে না দাঁড়ায়, সে জন্য সবাইকে সচেতন থাকার পরামর্শ দিয়েছেন তিনি। রাজনৈতিক নির্যাতন ও সন্ত্রাসের শিকার যেন শিশুদের হতে না হয়, সে দিকেও দৃষ্টি দিতে বলেছেন তিনি। প্রধানমন্ত্রী সোমবার ওসমানী স্মৃতি মিলনায়তনে 'বিশ্ব শিশু দিবস ও শিশু অধিকার রক্ষা সপ্তাহ'র আনুষ্ঠানিক উদ্বোধন করেন। নানা কর্মসূচির মধ্য দিয়ে দেশে বিশ্ব শিশু দিবস পালিত হচ্ছে। শিশু অধিকার সপ্তাহের এবারের প্রতিপাদ্য 'তথ্য প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহারে জানবে শিশু জগৎটাকে'।

প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, "প্রতিটি শিশুর জন্য গড়ে তুলতে চাই আলোকিত নিরাপদ স্বদেশ। আসুন, ভবিষ্যৎ প্রজন্মের সুন্দর আগামীর জন্য আমরা আমাদের বর্তমানকে উৎসর্গ করি। আমরা সকলে স্ব স্ব অবস্থান থেকে শিশু অধিকার রক্ষা ও তাদের কল্যাণে কাজ করে যাবো।" দেশকে ভালোবেসে সুনাগরিক হয়ে গড়ে ওঠার জন্য শিশুদের প্রতি আহ্বান জানান তিনি।

গৃহে বা শিক্ষাঙ্গনে শিশুরা যাতে শারীরিক ও মানসিক নির্যাতনের শিকার না হয় সে জন্য শিক্ষক ও অভিভাবকসহ সবাকেই আরো যতœবান হওয়ার আহ্বান জানিয়ে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, "শিশু সব সময়ই বন্ধুর মতো আচরণ প্রত্যাশা করে। শিশুদের ওপর অতিরিক্ত বইয়ের বোঝা চাপিয়ে তাদের মানসিক বিকাশ বাধাগ্রস্ত করা উচিত নয়।" শিশুর মানসিক বিকাশ ও জ্ঞানচর্চার জন্য প্রযুক্তি শিক্ষার ওপর জোর দিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, "প্রত্যেক শিশুর জন্য তথ্য প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহারের অবারিত সুযোগ থাকা প্রয়োজন। যার মাধ্যমে তারা গভীরভাবে বিশ্বের অগ্রযাত্রাকে উপলব্ধি করতে পারবে। জ্ঞান-বিজ্ঞান অšে¦ষণে আগ্রহী হবে। আগামী দিনের নেতৃত্ব গ্রহণের জন্য নিজেদের গড়ে তুলবে।"

"শিশুরাই জাতির ভবিষ্যৎ, বিশ্বের ভবিষ্যৎ। তারাই বিশ্বায়ন ও তথ্য প্রযুক্তির এই যুগে আগামীতে বিশ্বকে নেতৃত্ব দেবে। তারাই হবে দিন বদলের ভবিষ্যৎ কারিগর। তাদের সেভাবে গড়ে তুলতে হবে," বলেন তিনি। সব ধরনের শোষণ ও নির্যাতন থেকে শিশুদের নিরাপদ রাখতে বর্তমান সরকারের কার্যক্রমের কথা তুলে ধরে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, "আমরা শিশুর পরিপূর্ণ বিকাশ চাই। পারিবারিক, সামাজিক ও সাংস্কৃতিক ক্ষেত্রে শিশুর সমান অংশীদারিত্ব নিশ্চিত করতে চাই। আমরা চাই, বৈষম্যহীন শিশুবান্ধব পরিবেশ।"

শিশুদের বিকাশে পরিবারের দায়িত্বের কথাও মনে করিয়ে দিয়ে তিনি বলেন, শিশু ভূমিষ্ঠ হওয়ার পরপরই তার একটা নাম পাওয়ার অধিকার আছে। দেড় মাস থেকে টিকা পাওয়ার অধিকার আছে। ছয় মাস পর্যন্ত মায়ের দুধ পাওয়ার অধিকার আছে। পাঁচ বছর বয়সে স্কুলে যাওয়ার অধিকার আছে। শিশু অধিকারের বিষয়টি প্রত্যেককে হৃদয় দিয়ে উপলব্ধি করার প্ররামর্শ দিয়ে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, "তাদের না বলবেন না। তাদের সঙ্গে কঠোর আচরণ করাবেন না । এতে তারা ভেতরে ভেতরে গুটিয়ে যাবে।"

শিশুর স্বাভাবিকভাবে বেড়ে উঠার জন্য শারীরিক ও মানসিক পরিচর্যার প্রয়োজনীয়তার গুরুত্বের কথা তুলে ধরে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, "আজ দু\খের সঙ্গে বলতে হয়, ডেভলপারদের বদৌলতে আজ খেলার মাঠগুলো হারিয়ে যেতে বসেছে। আমরা ঢাকাসহ অন্যান্য শহরে বিদ্যমান পার্ক ও খেলার মাঠ দখলমুক্ত করেছি। এগুলোকে শিশুদের ব্যবহার উপযোগী করা হচ্ছে।"

প্রধানমন্ত্রী শিশুতোষ চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাণে চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাতাদের প্রতি আহ্বান জানিয়ে বলেন, "আপনারা বছরে অন্তত একটি শিশুতোষ চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাণ করুন। সরকার আপনাদের পাশে থাকবে।" ভীতিকর ছবি বা সংবাদ প্রচার গণমাধ্যমের প্রতি আহ্বান জানান তিনি। প্রতিবন্ধী ও অটিস্টিক শিশুদের বোঝা মনে না করার আহ্বান জানিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, "তারা আমাদের পরিবার ও সমাজের অবিচ্ছেদ্য অংশ। তাদের বোঝা ভাবলে চলবে না। তাদের সমাজের মূলধারায় ফিরিয়ে আনতে হবে।"

২০০১ সালে নির্বাচন পরবর্তী সহিংহতার কথা তুলে ধরে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, "অতীতে এদেশের অনেক শিশুকেই রাজনৈতিক নির্যাতন ও সন্ত্রাসের শিকার হতে হয়েছিলো। আমরা সেই অন্ধকার সময়ের পুনরাবৃত্তি দেখতে চাই না।"শিশুদের কল্যাণে নেওয়া সরকারের বিভিন্ন পদক্ষেপ, শিশুমৃত্যুর হার কমানো, স্কুল ফিডিং কার্যক্রম শুরু করার বিয়ষগুলো প্রধানমন্ত্রী তার বক্তব্যে তুলে ধরেন।

ওসমানী মিলনায়তনে অনুষ্ঠানে প্রধান অতিথি ছিলেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী। অনুষ্ঠান উপস্থাপনা, ধর্মগ্রন্থ থেকে তিলওয়াত- সব শিশুরাই করেছে। শিশুদের পক্ষ থেকে সারাহ মেহজাবিন ও আবিদুর রহমান দীপ নামে দুটি শিশু বক্তব্যও রাখে।

অনুষ্ঠানে বক্তব্য রাখেন মহিলা ও শিশু বিষয়ক প্রতিমন্ত্রী শিরীণ শারমিন চৌধুরী, ইউনিসেফের আবাসিক প্রতিনিধি ক্যারল ডি রয়, মহিলা ও শিশু বিষয়ক মন্ত্রণালয়ের ভারপ্রাপ্ত সচিব তারিক উল ইসলাম। বক্তৃতা দেওয়ার পর প্রধানমন্ত্রী দর্শক সারিতে বসে শিশুদের পরিবেশিত অনুষ্ঠান উপভোগ করেন।

সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ যেভাবে পাল্টে দিচ্ছেন বাংলাদেশ

2011-09-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ যেভাবে পাল্টে দিচ্ছেন বাংলাদেশ

মোঃ হাসিবুল হাসান হাবীব

ক্যাটাগরী: Blog Highlights, প্রযুক্তি কথা

সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ জয় – তার পরিচয় নিয়ে বলার কিছু নাই । আমি শুধু কিছু ব্যাপার ব্লগারদের সাথে শেয়ার করতে চাই তা হল বাংলাদেশের প্রতি তার অবদান । কাদার মধ্যে থেকেও গায়ে কাদা না লাগিয়ে পথ চলেছেন তিনি । তার মা তাকে রাজনীতি থেকে বহুদূরে রেখে দেশের জন্য কাজ করার জন্যে তাকে তৈরী করেছেন । সবসময় বলেছেন তোমরা সবসময় মনে রাখবা তোমরা কার নাতী । ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ জয়ের একটা স্বপ্নের নাম । সেই স্বপ্নকে পুরনের জন্যে নিরলস কাজ করে যাচ্ছেন জয় ।

জয় বলেন – কারও দুর্নীতি থেকে অভিজ্ঞতা অর্জনের প্রয়োজন আমার নেই। নিজেকে সব ধরনের অপবাদমুক্ত রাখতেই আমি দেশের সকল কার্যক্রম থেকে দূরে থাকি।

ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশের উল্লেখযোগ্য কর্মীদের নিয়ে ধারাবাহিক লেখার ইচছা ছিল । সেই ইচ্ছা থেকে জয় কে দিয়ে এই লেখা শুরু করলাম । ব্যক ক্যাল্কুলেশন অব ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ । এইটা পার্ট ওয়ান । অনেক জায়গা থেকে অনেক ইনফো নিছি কিন্তু এইটা তো ব্লগ রিসার্চ পেপার না তাই আর অত ফাইন টিউনিং এ যাই নাই ।

ব্যঙ্গালরের সেন্ট জোসেফ থেকে কম্পিঊটার সায়েন্সে গ্র্যাজুয়েশন করেন ম্যাথ এবং ফিজক্স সহ । তার পর টেক্সাস ইউনিভার্সিটি । তার পর হার্ভাড – ইনোভেশন ইন গভর্নেন্স ।

জয় কাজ করে যাচ্ছেন মুলত আডভাইস করে ।

শেখ হাসিনাকে আডভাইস করে । ১৯৯৬ সাল থেকেই । জয়ই বাংলাদেশে কম্পিঊটারের ব্যাবসায় ট্যাক্স ফ্রি করার প্রস্তাব দেন ১৯৯৬ এই । আজও আমরা সেই সুবিধা ভোগ করে যাচ্ছি ।

কমিউনিকেশন এবংকানেক্টিভিটির মাধ্যমে দেশেকে এগিয়ে নেওয়ার জন্যে সজীব প্রথম প্রস্তাব করেছিলেন বাংলাদেশ কে সাবমেরিন কেবলের সাথে যুক্ত করার এবং ১৯৯৬ এ আওয়ামিলীগ ক্ষমতায় আসার পরে সেই এই কাজটি করার প্রস্তাব দেন এবং সরকার তা করেও ।

কিন্তু গত পৌনে তিন বছরে জয় যুগান্তকারী ভুমিকা পালন করেন ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ গড়তে । বিজ্ঞান এবং তথ্য ও যোগাযোগ প্রযুক্তি মন্ত্রণালয় এবং প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয়ের অধীনে একসেস টু ইনফরমেশন (এটুআই) প্রোগ্রাম যৌথভাবে রাজধানীর বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান নভোথিয়েটারে ডিজিটাল উদ্ভাবনী মেলার আয়োজন করে। মেলার সমাপনী অনুষ্ঠানে জয় বলেন ,

তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি খাতের বিভিন্ন উদ্ভাবনের ফলে মানুষের জীবনমানের পরিবর্তন হবে। আর এটাই হচ্ছে ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশের লক্ষ্য । সরকারি-বেসরকারিভাবে বিভিন্ন সিষ্টেম তৈরির ফলে দেশের মানুষ লাভবান হবে। জীবন ধারার পরিবর্তন হবে। দেশে টেন্ডারবাজি থাকবে না, এটাই ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশের স্বপ্ন। ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ বাস্তবায়নের জন্য সরকার সব রকমের সাহায্য-সহায়তা করবে ।

বঙ্গবন্ধু পরিবার দুর্নীতিকে প্রশ্রয় দেয় না। আমাদের শিক্ষা আছে, মেধা আছে। মেধা খাটিয়েই আমরা অঢেল অর্থ উপার্জন করতে পারি। তাই দেশের সম্পদ চুরি করার প্রয়োজন নেই।

সজীব আহমেদ চান যে তথ্যপ্রযুক্তির সেবা গ্রামে-গঞ্জে ছড়িয়ে যাক । গ্রামের মানুষের হাতের মুঠোয় তথ্যপ্রযুক্তির সেবা পৌছে যাক । এখন অনেক কিছুই কি হচ্ছেনা যা ৩ বছর আগেও মানুষ ভাবেনি ??

আডমিশন ফরম কালেক্ট থেকে শুরু করে সরকারের সমস্ত ফর্ম এখন অনলাইনে আছে । এবং তা অনলাইনে পূরন করে জমা দেবার ও সুবিধা আছে । মোবাইল ইন্টারনেট – কি না করেছে , মোবাইল ব্যাঙ্কিং পর্যন্ত এখন বাংলাদেশে হচ্ছে ।টেন্ডার জমা দেয়া , স্বাস্থ্য সেবা , ক্রিষি সেবা , মোবাইলের মাধ্যমে ট্রেনের টিকিট ,এটিএম মেশিন ,কল সেন্টার – এ সবের মূলেই রয়েছে একটা স্বপ্ন এবং তার পেছনে নিঃস্বার্থ এবং নিরলস পরিশ্রম । সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ জয়ের ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশের স্বপ্ন । বাংলাদেশে এখন একটা আইটি পার্ক আছে ।

সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদ জয়ের আডভাইসে এগিয়ে যাচ্ছে বাংলাদেশ । শুধু মাত্র কলসেন্টারে এখন ৪০০০ এর বেশী ছেলে মেয়েরা কাজ করছে । বিদ্যুৎ ঘাটতি আরো কমে এলেই বাংলাদেশে গার্মেন্টস শিল্পের থেকে সম্ভাবনা নিয়ে আত্মপ্রকাশ করবে কলসেন্টার খাতটি । এইবারই দেশের ইতিহাসে প্রথমবারের মত ৫২০০ মেগাওয়াট বিদ্যুৎ জাতীয় গ্রিডে যুক্ত হয়েছে । ঢাকা সহ সারা দেশের কনষ্ট্রাকশনের মাধ্যমে কানেক্টিভিটি এনশিঊর করার জন্যেও জয় কাজ করে যাচ্ছেন ।

শিশু স্বাস্থ্য ও মৃত্যুহার কমিয়ে আনার সাফল্যে গত বছর জাতিসংঘে মিলেনিয়াম ডেভেলপমেন্ট পুরস্কার গ্রহনের কথা উল্লেখ করে বলেন —

আমরা মনে করি শিশুর সুস্বাস্থ্যের জন্য মায়ের সুস্বাস্থ ও যত্ন দরকার । এ জন্যে দেশের ১১ হাজার কমিউনিটি ক্লিনিককে ডিজিটাল স্বাস্থ্য সেবার আওতায় নিয়ে আসা হয়েছে । এটি অত্যান্ত সৌভাগ্যের বিষয় যে আমরা আমাদের বন্ধুদের কাছ থেকে আমাদের তথ্যপ্রযুক্তির কাজের স্বীক্রিতী পেয়েছি । এই স্বীক্বিতী আমাদের ঈপ্সিত লক্ষ অর্জনের দিকে এগিয়ে যেতে অনুপ্রেরনা যোগাবে ।

এইসব আওয়ার্ড সজীব আহমেদ ওয়াজেদের কারনেই সম্ভব হয়েছে ।

জয় বলেন, ‘ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ গড়ার ব্যাপারে আমি আমার মা’কে বুদ্ধি পরামর্শ দেই। আমি বিদেশে বসবাস করি। তাই এসব কাজ আমার পক্ষে করা সম্ভব নয়। সরকারের সঙ্গে যারা আছেন, তারা এসব কাজ বাস্তবায়ন করেন।

১৯শে সেপ্টেম্বর শেখ হাসিনাকে বিশ্ব মহিলা ও শিশু স্বাস্থ্য উন্নয়নে অবদান রাখার জন্যে সাউথ সাউথ পুরস্কার প্রদান করা হয়েছে । জাতিসংঘ ইকনমিক কমিশন ফর আফ্রিকা ,আন্তর্জাতিক টেলিকমিউনিকেশন ইউনিয়ন ও সাউথ নিউজ যৌথভাবে আয়োজন করে পুরস্কার দেয় এবং এর প্রতিপাদ্য বিষয় ছিল: ‘ ডিজিটাল হেলথ ফর ডিজিটাল ডেভেলপমেন্ট ” ।

আন্তর্জাতিক টেলিকমিউনিকেশন ইউনিয়নের সেক্রেটারী জেনারেল ডঃ হামদুন টোরে নিউইয়র্কের ওয়ালডর্ফ এষ্টোরিয়া হোটেলে আয়োজিত অনুষ্ঠানে শেখ হাসিনার হাতে এই পুরস্কার তুলে দেন । পুরুস্কার গ্রহন করে শেখ হাসিনা বলেন — “এটি বংলাদেশের জনগণ ও সরকারের কঠোর পরিশ্রমের স্বীক্রিতি । বাংলাদেশ স্বাস্থ্যসেবার উন্নয়নে ডিজিটাল প্রযুক্তির ব্যাবহার করেছে । মোবাইল ফোনে ক্ষুদে বার্তার মাধ্যমে ম্যালেরিয়া ও যক্ষারোগের চিকিতসা দেওয়া হচ্ছে ।”

সজীব ওয়াজেদ জয় বলেন —

ডিজিটাল বংলাদেশের পরিকল্পনা দ্রুত গতিতে বাস্তবায়িত হচ্ছে । যে গতিতে উন্নয়ন ঘটছে তা কেঊ কল্পনাও করতে পারেননি । এর সুফল হিসেবে সাউথ সাউথ এওয়ার্ড মিলেছে । বর্তমান আওয়ামিলীগ সরকার ইতিমধ্যে বিদ্যুৎ গ্রেডে ২২০০ মেগাওয়াট বিদ্যুৎ যোগ করেছে ,যা ইতিহাসে প্রথম । বাংলাদেশে প্রথমবারের মত বিদ্যুৎ উতপাদন ৫২০০ মেগাওয়াট ছাড়িয়ে গেছে । দেশের বিদ্যুৎ সমস্যা সমাধানে সরকার সারা দেশে বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্র স্থাপনে সর্বোচ্চ অগ্রধিকার দিয়ে কাজ করে যাচ্ছে । ২৬ টি বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র জাতীয় গ্রিডে বিদ্যুৎ দেওয়া শুরু করেছে । আরো ৩৪ টি বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র স্থাপনের কাজ চলছে । এই বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রগুলো আগামি বছরের মধ্যেই চালু হবে । ২০১২ সালে বিদ্যুৎ সেক্টর দেশের চাহিদার চেয়ে বিদ্যুৎ উদ্ব্বত্ব বিদ্যুৎ উতপাদনে সক্ষম হবে ।

দেশে এখন রয়েছে যানজট , তবে বর্তমান সরকার যানজট নিরসনে সর্বোচ্চ অগ্রাধিকার দিয়ে কাজ করে চলছে । ইতিমধ্যেই ঢাকা শহরসহ সারাদেশে ব্রিজ ,ওভারপাস ,বাইপাস ,ঊড়ালসেতু ,হাইওয়ে সম্প্রসারনের কাজ যেভাবে শুরু করেছে সরকার, যানজট নিরসনে সরকারের নেওয়া বিভিন্ন পদক্ষেপ সুষ্ঠভাবে সম্পন্ন করতে পারলে যানজট সমস্যার দ্রুত নিষ্পন্ন সম্ভব ।

অত্যন্ত ম্যাচ্যুউর বক্তব্য । সে এখন পুরো তৈরী বাংলাদেশকে নেত্রিত্ব দিতে । শুধু ডেভেলপমেন্ট এক্টিভিজ ছারাও পলিটিক্যালি সে এখন অনেক ম্যাচিওর । এই তো সেদিন ছাত্রলীগের ২৭তম কাউন্সিল অধিবেশনে সংগঠনের নেতা-কর্মীদের শুভেচ্ছা জানিয়ে বলেন:

ছাত্রলীগ এগিয়ে গেলেই দেশ এগিয়ে যাবে। ছাত্রলীগ হচ্ছে জাতির ভবিষ্যৎ। ২০০৮ সালের নির্বাচনে জনগণের ভোট নিয়ে ক্ষমতায় এসেছি বলেই আমাদের সুযোগ হয়েছে বঙ্গবন্ধুর স্বপ্নের সোনার বাংলা বাস্তবায়নসহ ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ গড়ে তোলার।

তিনি আরো বলেন -

আমি এসেছি আপনাদের শুভেচ্ছা জানাতে। সারাদেশ থেকে যে ডেলিগেট ভাইরা এসেছেন তাদেরকে ভালবাসা জানাতে। অতীতে ছাত্র লীগের নেতা-কর্মীরা দেশকে অনেক কিছু দিয়েছেন। দেশের মানুষও এই সংগঠন থেকে অনেক কিছু প্রত্যাশা করে।

তার হার্ভাড গ্র্যাজুয়েশন শেষে সনদ বিতরন অনুষ্ঠানে তিনি বলেন –

আমার মা’র স্বপ্ন ছিল হার্ভার্ড থেকে আমি গ্রাজুয়েশন করি। তাঁর এই স্বপ্ন পূরনে সফল হতে পেরে ধন্য মনে করছি। এছাড়াও আরো অনেক কিছুই করার আছে। তার সবটাই চেষ্টা করবো পূরন করতে।

গনতান্ত্রিক বাংলাদেশে সুখের অনুভুতি প্রতিটি মানুষকে স্পর্শ করুক। সুন্দর ভবিস্যত নির্মানে ভোরের সূর্য কিরণে অবগাহিত হোক বাংলাদেশ। ধুয়েমুছে সাফ হোক অন্যায় অসত্য আর মিথ্যাচার। প্রতিষ্ঠিত হোক গনতান্ত্রিক বাংলাদেশ। এই সময়ে এটাই আমার প্রত্যাশা।

ধন্যবাদ জানাই জয় ভাইকে । তার নিরলস নিস্বার্থ কাজ এগিয়ে যাক , এগিয়ে যাক বাংলাদেশ । এমন অনেক কিছুই আরো এদেশের মানুষ পাক , যা আগে কেউ কখন ভাবেও নি । আমার বাংলাদেশ হয়ে উঠুক সোনার বাংলাদেশ ।

জয় বাংলা ।

ট্যাগ/কি-ওয়ার্ড:
ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ, সজীব ওয়াজেদ জয়

বিএনপি তারেক-কোকো আর যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষায় হরতাল ডেকেছে: আওয়ামী লীগ নেতৃবৃন্দ

2011-09-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

বিএনপি তারেক-কোকো আর যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষায় হরতাল ডেকেছে: আওয়ামী লীগ নেতৃবৃন্দ

যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের জেল থেকে ছিনিয়ে আনার লক্ষ্যে জামাত কমান্ডো হামলা চালায়: সৈয়দ আশরাফুল ইসলাম

২২ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১১ | ৭ আশ্বিন ১৪১৮

আওয়ামী লীগ নেতারা হরতালের নামে নৈরাজ্য ও সহিংসতা সৃষ্টিকারীদের বিরুদ্ধে জনগণের জানমাল রক্ষায় প্রতিটি পাড়া-মহল্লায় প্রতিরোধ গড়ে তুলতে দলীয় নেতাকর্মীদের নির্দেশ দিয়েছেন। একই সঙ্গে আজ হরতাল চলাকালে মাঠে থাকার ঘোষণা দিয়ে তারা বলেছেন, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার শুরু হওয়ায় বিএনপির মাথায় আগুন ধরে গেছে। জামায়াত উন্মাদ হয়ে গেছে। এ কারণেই যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষায় হরতাল ডেকেছে তারা। বুধবার রাজধানীর বঙ্গবন্ধু এভিনিউর দলীয় কার্যালয়ের সামনে ঢাকা মহানগর আওয়ামী লীগের প্রতিবাদ সমাবেশে নেতারা এসব কথা বলেন। সোমবার ঢাকাসহ বিভিন্ন স্থানে জামায়াত-শিবির ও বিএনপির সন্ত্রাস, নৈরাজ্য, অগি্নসংযোগ, ভাংচুরসহ গণতন্ত্রবিরোধী কর্মকাণ্ডের বিরুদ্ধে এ সমাবেশ অনুষ্ঠিত হয়।আওয়ামী লীগের ভারপ্রাপ্ত সভাপতি সংসদ উপনেতা সৈয়দা সাজেদা চৌধুরী বলেন, স্বাধীনতাবিরোধী যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিরুদ্ধে দেশে আরেকটি মুক্তিযুদ্ধ শুরু হয়ে গেছে। এই যুদ্ধে জয়ী হয়ে বাংলাদেশকে রাজাকারদের হাত থেকে আরেকবার স্বাধীন করতে হবে। তিনি বলেন, একাত্তরে ছেড়ে দেওয়া হলেও বিএনপির দোসর জামায়াতকে এবার ছেড়ে দেওয়া হবে না। সবকিছুর বিচার অবশ্যই করা হবে। দ্রব্যমূল্য বৃদ্ধি প্রসঙ্গে তিনি বলেন, বাজারে সব জিনিস পাওয়া গেলেও দাম একটু বেশি থাকায় মানুষের কষ্ট হচ্ছে। ব্যবসায়ীদের অনুরোধ জানাই, দাম কমান। মানুষকে কষ্ট দিয়ে লাভ করার চেষ্টা করবেন না।

দলের সভাপতিমণ্ডলীর সদস্য কৃষিমন্ত্রী বেগম মতিয়া চৌধুরী বলেন, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার শুরু হওয়ায় বিএনপির মাথায় আগুন ধরে গেছে, জামায়াত উন্মাদ হয়ে গেছে। নিজামী-সাঈদীরা জেলে থাকায় এবং এক ছেলের বিচার শেষে আরেক ছেলের বিচার শুরু হওয়ায় খালেদা জিয়ারও ঘুম হারাম হয়ে গেছে। এ কারণে দুর্নীতিবাজ ও একাত্তরের মানুষ হত্যাকারী জামায়াতকে বাঁচাতে খালেদা জিয়া হরতাল ডেকেছেন।

তিনি বলেন, হরতালে নৈরাজ্য ও সন্ত্রাস সৃষ্টিকারীদের মোকাবেলায় আইন-শৃঙ্খলা রক্ষাকারী বাহিনীই যথেষ্ট। এর পরও আওয়ামী লীগের নেতাকর্মীদের সব সাংগঠনিক শক্তি নিয়ে প্রতিটি পাড়া-মহল্লায় এই সন্ত্রাস ও নৈরাজ্য সৃষ্টিকারীদের বিরুদ্ধে প্রতিরোধ গড়ে তুলতে হবে।

সাধারণ সম্পাদক এলজিআরডিমন্ত্রী সৈয়দ আশরাফুল ইসলাম বলেন, বিএনপির হরতালের কোনো ইস্যু নেই। দলের স্থায়ী কমিটির সদস্যসহ নীতিনির্ধারক অধিকাংশ নেতার মতামত উপেক্ষা করে এবং জামায়াত ঘরানার বিএনপিপন্থি একটি দৈনিকের সম্পাদকের পীড়াপীড়িতেই খালেদা জিয়া এ হরতাল ডেকেছেন। এর সঙ্গে বিএনপির সাধারণ নেতাকর্মীদের কোনো সম্পৃক্ততাও নেই। 'চাকরি' ও 'পদরক্ষা' এবং লোক দেখানোর জন্য হরতালে মাঠে না নামতে বিএনপি নেতাকর্মীদের প্রতি অনুরোধ জানিয়ে তিনি বলেন, এতে দেশ ও জাতি উপকৃত হবে। তিনি বলেন, সোমবার কোনো বিক্ষোভ মিছিল নয়, পূর্বপরিকল্পিতভাবে ও কমান্ডো স্টাইলে পুলিশ হত্যার উদ্দেশ্যেই জামায়াত রাজপথে নৈরাজ্য ঘটিয়েছে। এটি ছিল যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার থেকে রক্ষায় বিকল্প উপায়ে তাদের জেল থেকে বের করে আনার নির্লজ্জ চেষ্টা, যা দেশ ও জাতির জন্য অশনিসংকেত। তবে সরকার তার নৈতিক দায়িত্ব পালনে যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার করেই ছাড়বে।

সভাপতিমণ্ডলীর সদস্য স্বরাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী অ্যাডভোকেট সাহারা খাতুন বিএনপি নেতাকর্মীদের উদ্দেশে বলেন, হরতালের নামে নৈরাজ্য সৃষ্টির চেষ্টা করবেন না। শেখ হাসিনার গণতান্ত্রিক সরকার গণতান্ত্রিক উপায়েই দেশ পরিচালনা করতে চায়। কিন্তু হরতালের নামে রাজপথে কেউ নৈরাজ্য সৃষ্টি করতে চাইলে সরকার তাদের কঠোরহস্তে দমন করবে। রাজপথে সজাগ থেকে অতন্দ্র প্রহরীর মতো এই নৈরাজ্য সৃষ্টিকারীদের মোকাবেলা করতে আওয়ামী লীগ নেতাকর্মীদের প্রতি আহ্বান জানান তিনি।
নগর আওয়ামী লীগের ভারপ্রাপ্ত সভাপতি এমএ আজিজের সভাপতিত্বে সমাবেশে আরও বক্তব্য রাখেন অ্যাডভোকেট ইউসুফ হোসেন হুমায়ুন, মাহবুবুল আলম হানিফ, আ ফ ম বাহাউদ্দিন নাছিম, অ্যাডভোকেট আফজাল হোসেন, ডা. মোস্তফা জালাল মহিউদ্দিন এমপি, মোফাজ্জল হোসেন চৌধুরী মায়া বীরবিক্রম, ফয়েজ উদ্দিন মিয়া, ইলিয়াস উদ্দিন মোল্লাহ এমপি, হাজী মোহাম্মদ সেলিম, শাহে আলম মুরাদ, আবদুল হক সবুজ, আসলামুল হক আসলাম এমপি, অ্যাডভোকেট সানজিদা খাতুন এমপি, সাহিদা তারেক দীপ্তি এমপি, সাইফুজ্জামান শিখর, আনিসুর রহমান আনিস, শেখ আনিস উজ জামান রানা প্রমুখ। সমাবেশ শেষে একটি বিক্ষোভ মিছিল নগরীর বিভিন্ন সড়ক ঘুরে জাতীয় প্রেস ক্লাবের সামনে গিয়ে শেষ হয়।বঙ্গবন্ধু এভিনিউর কেন্দ্রীয় কার্যালয়ের সামনে শ্রমিক লীগের হরতালবিরোধী বিক্ষোভ মিছিলপূর্ব সমাবেশে আওয়ামী লীগের যুগ্ম সাধারণ সম্পাদক মাহবুবউল আলম হানিফ বলেছেন, খালেদা জিয়ার দুই ছেলে তারেক-কোকো ও যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের রক্ষা এবং সরকারের সফলতা ম্লান করতেই বিএনপি হরতালের ডাক দিয়েছে। তবে হরতাল ও হুমকি-ধমকি দিয়ে কোনো কাজ হবে না। জাতির কাছে ওয়াদাবদ্ধ বর্তমান সরকার যুদ্ধাপরাধী এবং ২০০১-০৬ সালের সব দুর্নীতির বিচার করবেই।

শুদ্ধি অভিযান ॥ আওয়ামী লীগে চলতি মাসের শেষ সপ্তাহ থেকে শুরু হতে যাচ্ছে.ত্বত্তাবধায়ক সরকার ছাড়াই নিবার্চন হবে, সংবাদ সম্মেলনে প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

2011-09-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

ত্বত্তাবধায়ক সরকার ছাড়াই নিবার্চন হবে, সংবাদ সম্মেলনে প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা

শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, জাতিসংঘে সারাবিশ্বের জন্য একটি শান্তির মডেল উপস্থাপন করেছি, যার নাম হলো 'জনগণের ক্ষমতায়ন ও শান্তির মডেল''প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা আজ বলেছেন, বিরোধী দলকে নির্বাচনে আসতেই হবে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্র সফর এবং জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ অধিবেশনে অংশগ্রহণের অভিজ্ঞতা জানাতে গণভবনে সংবাদ সম্মেলনে শনিবার এ কথা বলেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী। বিরোধী দলের সঙ্গে সংসদে আলোচনার পথ খোলা রয়েছে বলেও আবার মন্তব্য করেন হাসিনা। প্রধানমন্ত্রী দৃঢ়তার সঙ্গে বলেন, "নির্বাচন হবেই, হবেই, হবেই। জনগণ নির্বাচন করবেই, করবেই, করবেই। "উনি (খালেদা) এত কথা বলছেন,,, উনি নির্বাচনে আসবেন। উনাকে নির্বাচনে আসতেই হবে। গণতন্ত্রে বিশ্বাস করলে নির্বাচনে আসতেই হবে।" নির্বাচনের প্রস্তুতি নিতে বিএনপিসহ বিরোধী দলগুলোর প্রতি আহ্বান জানান আওয়ামী লীগপ্রধান। তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার ব্যবস্থাকে প্রশ্নের মুখে ঠেলে দেওয়ার জন্য খালেদা জিয়াকে দায়ী করেন শেখ হাসিনা।

চলমান রাজনৈতিক মতপার্থক্য দূর করতে বিরোধী দলের সঙ্গে আলোচনা করা হবে কি না- প্রশ্ন করা হলে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, "তিনি (খালেদা) তো সময় বেঁধে দিয়েছেন সরকার উৎখাতের, তাহলে আর আলোচনা কীসের? "সংসদে চলে আসুক, সংসদে কথা বলুক, সংসদেই আলোচনা হবে।" নির্বাচনের মাধ্যমেই ক্ষমতা হস্তান্তরের আশা প্রকাশ করে হাসিনা বলেন, জনগণ নির্বাচন চায়। ভোট দেওয়া জনগণের সাংবিধানিক অধিকার। জনগণ যদি ভোট না দেয়, সে ক্ষমতা আমরা চাই না। খালেদা জিয়া বলেছেন, তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার ছাড়া নাকি নির্বাচন করবেননা। তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারকে কিভাবে নষ্ট করে ফেলা যায় তা বিএনপি-জামাত দেখিয়েছে। এই সেই বিএনপি যারা ১৯৯১ সালে লতিফুর রহমানের তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারকে ব্যবহার করে ক্ষমতায় এসেছিলো। মিরপুর ও মাগুরায় ভোট কারচুপির মাধ্যমে বাংলাদেশের নির্বাচন ব্যবস্থাকে তছনছ করে দিয়েছিল।
১৯৯৬ সালের ১৫ ফেব্রুয়ারি ভোটারবিহীন নির্বাচনের মাধ্যমে সংসদ গঠন করছিল। এমনকি জাতির জনক বঙ্গবন্ধুর খুনী কর্ণেল রশিদকে বিরোধীদলের নেতার পদ দিতেও লজ্জা করেনি। বঙ্গবন্ধুর আরেক খুনী মেজর হুদাকে সংসদ সদস্য বানিয়েছিল। ২০০৬ সালে জোর করে ক্ষমতা দখলের জন্য বিএনপির সাবেক আনত্মর্জাতিক সম্পাদক, সাবেক প্রধান বিচারপতি কে এম হাসানকে তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার প্রধান করতে বিচারপতিদের বয়স বাড়িয়েছিল।১ কোটি ২৩ লক্ষ ভুয়া ভোটার দিয়ে নির্বাচনের মাধ্যমে ক্ষমতায় আসার স্বপ্ন দেখেছিলেন। ৫৮(গ) অনুচ্ছেদ যথাযথভাবে অনুসরন না করে আজ্ঞাবহ রাষ্ট্রপতি ইয়াজউদ্দীনকে প্রধান উপদেষ্টা করে ইলেকশন ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এর অপচেষ্টা করেছিল। দেশে নেমে এসেছিল ১/১১ এর দুর্যোগ, আতংকের শাসন।
খালেদা জিয়ার দুর্নীতি, ক্ষমতার লোভ ও অপকর্মের ফসল ছিলো বিগত তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকার। সেসময়ে দেশে যে আতংকের রাজত্ব কায়েম হয়েছিল তার পুনরাবৃত্তি বাংলাদেশের কোন গণতন্ত্রকামী মানুষ আর দেখতে চায় না।
বিএনপির নেত্রী ২০০৭ সালের পহেলা জুলাই নিউইয়র্কে পৃথক দুটি টেলিকনফারেন্সে তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের বিরোধিতা করে বলেছিলেন, " জনগণই একদিন এই ব্যবস্থার বিলুপ্তি চাইবে"।জনগণ বিলুপ্তি চায় বলেই আমরা সর্বোচ্চ আদালতের রায় অনুসরণ করে নির্বাচিত জাতীয় সংসদে এই ব্যবস্থা বিলুপ্ত করেছি।

তিনি বলেন, 'তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের যে রূপ আমরা দেখেছি, বিরোধীদলীয় নেতা কোন পরিকল্পনায় আবার এর অধীনে নির্বাচনের কথা বলেন? তিনি অভিযোগ করেন, তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা করার জন্য প্রধান বিচারপতির বয়স বাড়ানো হয়েছিল। পুরো বিচার বিভাগ ধ্বংস হয়ে যাচ্ছিল। খালেদা জিয়াই তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারব্যবস্থাকে প্রশ্নবিদ্ধ করেছিলেন।'
বিএনপির চেয়ারপারসন খালেদা জিয়া সরকারের উদ্দেশে ফাইনাল খেলার প্রস্তুতি নেওয়ার যে আহ্বান জানিয়েছেন—এর জবাবে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, সেমিফাইনাল না খেলেই ফাইনাল খেলা কীভাবে হবে? তিনি বলেন, 'খেলনেওয়ালারা খেলে যাবেন। কাজ করনেওয়ালারা কাজ করে যাবেন। আমরা কাজ করে যাচ্ছি।' প্রধানমন্ত্রী দুর্নীতিবাজ ছেলে ও যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বাঁচানোর আন্দোলন বাদ দিয়ে নির্বাচনের প্রস্তুতি নিতে খালেদা জিয়ার প্রতি আহ্বান জানান।

চোর-বাটপারের সঙ্গে আলোচনায় না বসা নিয়ে মন্তব্যের বিষয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, 'আমি বিষয়টি এভাবে বলিনি।' তিনি বলেন, আলোচনায় এসেই তো বিরোধী দলের নেতা তাঁর দুর্নীতিবাজ ছেলেদের মুক্তির কথা বলবেন। তিনি বিরোধীদলীয় নেতাকে সংসদে এসে সব বিষয়ে আলোচনার আহ্বান জানান।

প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, কোনো রাজনৈতিক দল নিষিদ্ধ করা হবে না। তবে বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামীর ধ্বংসাত্মক কর্মকাণ্ড মেনেও নেওয়া হবে না। তিনি জামায়াতের ভাঙচুর প্রতিরোধে জনগণকে এগিয়ে আসার আহ্বান জানান। প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, জনগণ ভালো থাকলে বিরোধীদলীয় নেতা খালেদা জিয়ার ভালো লাগে না। সম্পদ লুট করতে পারছেন না বলে খালেদা জিয়ার এত কষ্ট বলে তিনি মন্তব্য করেন। তিনি বলেন, যুদ্ধাপরাধী, দুর্নীতিবাজ, অর্থপচারকারীদের রক্ষার জন্য বিরোধী দলের দেওয়া কর্মসূচি জনগণের কাছে গ্রহণযোগ্য হবে না। বিরোধী দল সরকার উৎখাতের সময়সীমা বেধে দিয়েছে উল্লেখ করে প্রধানমন্ত্রী বলেন, এ অবস্থায় কিসের আলোচনা।
২৭ সেপ্টেম্বর জনসভায় বিরোধীদলীয় নেতার বক্তব্য ছিল গতানুগতিক। তিনি বললেন, দেশের মানুষ অশান্তিতে আছে। আসলে নিজে সারাক্ষণ অশান্তিতে ভোগেন। ক্ষমতা থেকে বিদায় হওয়ার কষ্ট তার আছে। দুই দুর্নীতিবাজ সন্তানদের লুটপাটের সুযোগ বন্ধ হওয়ার কষ্ট তার আছে। তাই বলেছেন, দেশে এখন অশান্তি। তিনি বলেছেন, দেশে নাকি গণতন্ত্র নেই, গণতন্ত্র নাকি অবরুদ্ধ। গণতন্ত্র অবরুদ্ধ হলে তিনি সমাবেশ করলেন কিভাবে? তার রাজনীতির লক্ষ্য, দুই দুর্নীতিবাজ ছেলেকে বিচারের হাত থেকে বাঁচানো।একাত্তরের যুদ্ধাপরাধী, লাখো শহীদের হত্যাকারীদের রক্ষা করা।তিনি বলেছেন, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার তিনি মানেননা। এটাই স্বাভাবিক। কারন, তার স্বামী জিয়া এই যুদ্ধঅপরাধীদের রাজনীতিতে পুনর্বাসন করেছিলেন। খালেদা জিয়া ক্ষমতায় এসে রাজাকারদের গাড়ীতে জাতীয় পতাকা দিয়েছিলেন। আওয়ামী লীগের নির্বাচনী ওয়াদা ছিল, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার করা। মানুষ আমাদের ম্যান্ডেট দিয়েছে। তাদের বিচার আমরা করবোই।
শেখ হাসিনা বলেন, খালেদা জিয়া তার দুর্নীতিবাজ সন্তানদেরদের রক্ষা করতে চাইছেন। তার সন্তানদের হাজার হাজার কোটি টাকা বিদেশে পাচার করার ঘটনা আমেরিকার ফেডারেল কোর্ট ও সিঙ্গাপুরের আদালতে প্রমাণিত হওয়ার পরেও তিনি বড় কথা বলেন। এরা এমনকি জিয়ার নামে ট্রাষ্ট করে এতিমদের জন্য টাকা এনে সেই টাকা আত্মসাৎ করেছে। এদের দুর্নীতির জন্যই বিএনপি-জামাতের ৫ বছরে বাংলাদেশ পরিচিত ছিলো দুর্নীতির বিশ্বচ্যাম্পিয়ন হিসাবে।
ভাঙা সুটকেস আর ছেড়াঁ গেঞ্জির ভিতরে কি এমন আলাদিনের চেরাগ ছিলো যে তিনি, তার সন্তান আর ভাইয়েরা হাজার হাজার কোটি টাকার মালিক হলেন? দেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী যখন জরিমানা দিয়ে কালো টাকা সাদা করেন তখন তার মুখে ভালো কথা মানায়না। কথায় আছে,- "চোরের মার বড় গলা"।
খালেদা জিয়া বলেছেন, আমরা নাকি সংবিধান থেকে আল্লাহর উপর আস্থা ও বিশ্বাস উঠিয়ে ফেলেছি। খালেদা জিয়া কি বিসমিল্লাহির রাহমানির রাহিম এর মানে জানেননা ? আল্লাহর উপর বিশ্বাস না থাকলে বিসমিল্লাহির রাহমানির রাহিম সংবিধানে থাকে কিভাবে?
খালেদা জিয়া দ্রব্যমূল্য নিয়ে কথা বলেছেন। দ্রব্যমূল্য নিয়ে কথা বলার আগে তাকে জবাব দিতে হবে - যে চাল বিগত আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার ২০০১ সালে ১০ টাকা কেজি রেখে এসেছিল তা কেন তার সময়ে ৪৫ টাকা কেজি হয়েছিল? ২০০৮ সালে যে চালের দাম ছিলো ৪৫ টাকা বর্তমানে ৩৫ টাকা। প্রতিবেশী দেশগুলোর দ্রব্যমূল্যের সাথে তুলনা করুন। তারপর কথা বলুন। আমরা সরকার গঠনের পর মানুষের ক্রয়ক্ষমতা বেড়েছে। নতুন জাতীয় বেতন স্কেল ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে। যার বেতন ছিলো ৩ হাজার টাকা তা হয়েছে সাড়ে পাঁচ হাজার টাকা। গার্মেন্টস শ্রমিকদের ন্যুনতম বেতন ১৬০০ টাকা থেকে ৩ হাজার টাকা করা হয়েছে। কৃষক পণ্যের ন্যায্যমূল্য পেয়েছে। আয় বেড়েছে। বিদেশ থেকে ৪২ টাকা কেজি দরে চাল কিনে গরীবদের মধ্যে ২৪ টাকা কেজি দরে বিক্রি করছি। রোজার মাসে হতদরিদ্রদের মাঝে বিনামূল্যে ১০ কেজি করে চাল বিতরণ করা হয়েছে। ভিজিএফ, ফেয়ার প্রাইস কার্ড, রেশনিং এর মাধ্যমে গরীব মানুষকে সাহায্য করা হচ্ছে। খালেদা বলেছেন, ক্ষমতায় এলে নাকি বিদ্যুৎ সমস্যার সমাধান করবেন। মানুষ ভুলে যায়নি তার সনত্মানেরা এইখাত থেকে কিভাবে হাজার হাজার কোটি টাকা লুটপাট করেছে। বি.এন.পি জামাত ৫ বছরে এক মেগাওয়াট উৎপাদন বাড়াতে পারেনি বরং কমিয়েছে। বিদ্যুৎ আমাদের সরকারের অগ্রাধিকার খাত।আড়াই বছরে ২২০০ মেগাওয়াট উৎপাদন বাড়িয়েছি।২২টি নতুন বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র নির্মাণ হয়েছে।৩৪টির কাজ চলছে।প্রতিদিন বিদ্যুতের চাহিদা বাড়ছে। পূরণ করছি। তাদের সময়ের ঘাটতি পূরণ করতে হচ্ছে। খালেদা জিয়া বলেছেন, দেশের অর্থনীতি নাকি খুব খারাপ অবস্থায়। এবছর প্রবৃদ্ধি ৬.৭ ভাগ।গড় আয় বেড়ে ৮২৮ টাকা।বৈদেশিক মুদ্রার রিজার্ভ সর্বোচ্চ। সরাসরি বৈদেশিক বিনিয়োগ বেড়েছে ৩০%। রফতানি বেড়েছে ৪২%। এরপরেও অর্থনীতির অবস্থা কিভাবে খারাপ হয়? বিরোধীদলের নেতা তাদের সময়ে জ্বালানি তেলের দাম বাড়ানো হয়নি বলে অসত্য তথ্য দিয়েছেন। বিগত বিএনপি-জামাত জোট সরকারের সময়ে সর্বমোট ৯ বার জ্বালানি তেলের দাম বাড়ানো হয়েছিল। ২০০১ সালে যে ডিজেল রেখে এসেছিলাম ১৫ টাকা ৫০ পয়সা লিটার তা বাড়িয়ে দ্বিগুণেরও বেশী অর্থাৎ ৩৩ টাকা করেছিলেন। ২৫ টাকার অকটেন করেছিলেন ৫৮ টাকা। সাড়ে ১৫ টাকার কেরোসিনের দাম করেছিলেন ৩৩ টাকা। মানুষ এসব ভুলে যায়নি।
আনত্মর্জাতিক বাজারে জ্বালানি তেলের দাম বাড়ার কারনে এবং বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র স্থাপনের কারনে এবারের দাম বাড়ানোর পরেও শুধু এই বছরেই সরকারকে ভর্তুকি দিতে হবে ১৪ হাজার ৫শত কোটি টাকা।
খালেদা জিয়া কি চাননা বিদ্যুৎ সমস্যার সমাধান হোক? আইন-শৃংখলা পরিসি'তি নিয়ে কথা বলেছেন। তার কাছে আমার প্রশ্ন, র্যা ব কাদের সৃষ্টি? তিনি র্যাইব ও পুলিশকে ট্রেনিং না দেয়ার জন্য বিদেশীদের কাছে আহবান জানিয়েছেন। খালেদা জিয়ার ইচ্ছা কি ? জনগণকে নিরাপত্তাহীন করা? দেশকে সন্ত্রাসের অভয়ারণ্যে পরিণত করা? জঙ্গীদের কাছে বাংলাদেশকে জিম্মি করা? আমাদের আড়াই বছরে একই সময়ে ৫০০ স্থানে বোমা হামলার ঘটনা ঘটেনি।
বিরোধীদলীয় নেতার উপর গ্রেনেড হামলা হয়নি। বিরোধীদলের কোন এমপি নিহত হয়নি। ধর্ষণ, বাড়ী ঘর দখল হয়নি ।
তাদের সময়ে কিবরিয়া, আহসান উল্লাহ মাস্টার হত্যা, অধ্যক্ষ গোপাল কৃষ্ণ মুহুরি হত্যা। বাবার কোলে শিশু নওশীন হত্যা, ছাত্রদল ক্যাডারদের হাতে বুয়েটের ছাত্র সনি হত্যা, বগুড়ায় মসজিদে কোরান তেলাওয়াতরত অবস্থায় আজম হত্যার কথা মানুষ ভুলে যায়নি। পাবনায় ২০০ খ্রীষ্টান পরিবারের জমি দখল, খাগড়াছড়িতে বৌদ্ধ মন্দির দখল,বাগেরহাটে একই সংখ্যালঘু পরিবারের ৯ জনকে হত্যা বিএনপি-জামাত আমলের আইন-শৃংখলা পরিসি'তির নমুনা।
ছবিরানী, মাহফুজা, পূর্ণিমা, বেদানা, রজুফা, ফাহিমা, মহিমা ধর্ষণ, ভোলায় একরাতে একশ নারীকে গণধর্ষণ, নেত্রকোণার কেন্দুয়ায় এক রাতে ৭০ জন নারী ও মেয়ে শিশু ধর্ষণ, গফরগাঁয়ে আওয়ামী লীগ কর্মী মোজাম্মেল এর ভিটেমাটি কেটে পুকুর বানানোর কথা এদেশের মানুষ কখনো ভুলবেনা। ২০০৪ সালের ২১ আগষ্ট আওয়ামী লীগের শানিত্মপূর্ণ সমাবেশে গ্রেনেড হামলা চালিয়ে আইভি রহমানসহ ২২ জন নেতা-কর্মীকে কারা হত্যা করেছিল তা আজ তদনেত্মর মাধ্যমে বেরিয়ে এসেছে।

খালেদা জিয়া সংবাদপত্রের স্বাধীনতার কথা বলেন ? তার সময়েই ১৩ জন সাংবাদিককে হত্যা করা হয়েছিলো। শাহরিয়ার কবির, সেলিম সামাদ, এনামুল হক, শিক্ষাবিদ মুনতাসির মামুনকে গ্রেফতার করেছিল। ড: হুমায়ুন আজাদকে বইমেলায় হত্যার চেষ্টা হয়েছিলো। বিরোধীদলের নেতা বলেছেন, আমরা বিদেশে শ্রমবাজার ধরে রাখতে পারিনি। এই বক্তব্য সম্পূর্ণ অসত্য। বিএনপি-জামাত সরকারের দুর্নীতির কারনে বিভিন্ন দেশ বাংলাদেশ থেকে কর্মী নিয়োগে নিষেধাজ্ঞা দিয়েছিলো। বিশ্বমন্দা সত্ত্বেও আমরা সেসব দেশে নতুন করে প্রায় ৯ লক্ষ শ্রমিকের কর্মসংস্থান করেছি। শেয়ারবাজারের স্বাভাবিক অবস্থা ফিরিয়ে আনতে পদক্ষেপ নিয়েছি। অপ্রদর্শিত আয় ১০% কর দিয়ে শেয়ারবাজারে বিনিয়োগের সুযোগ দেয়া হয়েছে। প্রদর্শিত আয়ে ১০% কর রেয়াত। ইতিবাচক প্রভাব পড়েছে শেয়ারবাজারে। কথায় কথায় হরতাল কি শেয়ারবাজারের ক্ষুদ্র বিনিয়োগকারীদের পথে বসানোর জন্য ? ১৯৭৫ সালে বঙ্গবন্ধুকে হত্যা করার পর বিভিন্ন সময়ে যারাই ক্ষমতায় ছিলেন তারা ভারতবিরোধিতার সস্তা রাজনীতি করেছেন। কিন্তু একটি সমস্যারও সমাধান করতে পারেননি। বরং দেশকে ভারতীয় পণ্যের বাজার বানিয়েছেন। খালেদা জিয়া প্রধানমন্ত্রী থাকতে দিল্লী সফর শেষে ঢাকায় ফিরে সাংবাদিকদের প্রশ্নের জবাবে বলেছিলেন, গঙ্গার পানি নিয়ে আলোচনার কথা তিনি নাকি ভুলে গিয়েছিলেন।
অন্যদিকে যখনই আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার গঠন করেছে তখনই বিভিন্ন ইস্যুতে ভারতের কাছ থেকে আমাদের ন্যায্য পাওনা আদায় করেছে। সীমান্ত প্রটোকল স্বাক্ষরের মাধ্যমে ভারতের সাথে আমাদের স্থলসীমানা নির্ধারণ করা হয়েছে। এরফলে আমরা ১৭ হাজার একর জায়গা ভারতের কাছ থেকে পেয়েছি। তিনবিঘা করিডোর দহগ্রাম ও আঙ্গরপোতা ছিটমহলের বাংলাদেশি নাগরিকদের জন্য সার্বক্ষনিক খুলে দেয়া হয়েছে। এরফলে ৩৭ বছরের বেশী সময় ধরে ঝুলে থাকা ছিটমহল সমস্যার সমাধান হয়েছে। ভারতে বাংলাদেশের ৪৬ টি পন্যের শুল্কমুক্ত প্রবেশাধিকার নিশ্চিত করেছি। ১৯৯৬ সালে আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার ৩০ বছর মেয়াদি গঙ্গার পানিচুক্তির মাধ্যমে আমাদের ন্যায্য হিস্যা আদায় করেছিলো । তিস্তার পানি নিয়েও আলোচনা চলমান। আমরা আশাবাদী, আলোচনার মাধ্যমে সম্ভাব্য দ্রুত সময়ের মধ্যেই এসমস্যার সমাধান করবো ।

এ ছাড়া জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের অধিবেশনে যোগ দিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী যেসব বিষয়ে আলোচনা করেছেন এবং বিশ্ব শান্তি প্রতিষ্ঠার লক্ষ্যে শান্তির যে মডেল উপস্থাপন করেছেন, সেসব বিষয়ে সংবাদ সম্মেলনে কথা বলেছেন। তিনি জানান, ১৮ সেপ্টেম্বর বিকালে আমি নিউইয়র্ক পৌছাই। ১৯ সেপ্টেম্বর সকালে সন্ত্রাসবাদ দমন সংক্রান্ত 'কাউন্টার টেররিজম কো-অপারেশন' শীর্ষক জাতিসংঘ সিম্পোজিয়ামে মূল প্রবন্ধ উপস্থাপন করি। আমার বক্তৃতায় আমি সন্ত্রাস দমনে সমন্বিত কৌশল খুঁজে বের করতে আন-র্জাতিক সমপ্রদায়কে আঞ্চলিক এবং বিশ্বব্যাপী সহযোগিতা জোরদার করার আহ্বান জানাই। বিশ্বসন্ত্রাস দমনে ৭ দফা সুপারিশ তুলে ধরি। বিদেশি দখলদারিত্ব এবং স্বাধীনতাকামী জনগণের বৈধ সংগ্রামের মধ্যে সুস্পষ্ট পার্থক্যসহ আনত্মর্জাতিক সন্ত্রাসবাদ দমনে জাতিসংঘের কমপ্রিহেনসিভ কনভেনশন চূড়ান্ত করার আহ্বান জানাই। আমি স্পষ্টভাষায় বলেছি, বাংলাদেশ সব ধরনের সন্ত্রাসের তীব্র নিন্দা জানায়। আমরা বাংলাদেশের ভূখণ্ড ব্যবহার করে সন্ত্রাস কিংবা নাশকতামূলক তৎপরতা চালাতে দেব না। বিভিন্ন দেশের মধ্যে সহযোগিতা ও গোয়েন্দা তথ্য বিনিময়ের লক্ষ্যে জাতিসংঘের অধীনে বিশ্বব্যাপী সন্ত্রাসী গোষ্ঠী সম্পর্কিত ব্যাপক তথ্য-উপাত্তসমৃদ্ধ একটি সন্ত্রাস দমন কেন্দ্র গড়ে তোলার উপরও জোর দেই। একইদিনে কুয়েতের প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ নাসের মোহাম্মদ আল-আহম্মদ আল-সাবাহর সাথে আমার দ্বিপাক্ষিক বৈঠক হয়। এসময় আমি আমাদের নদীগুলির নব্যতা রক্ষায় ড্রেজিংয়ে কুয়েতের সহায়তা চেয়েছি। বাংলাদেশে আরো বেশী কুয়েতি বিনিয়োগের অনুরোধ করেছি। তাকে বাংলাদেশ সফরের আমন্ত্রণ জানিয়েছি যা তিনি সানন্দে গ্রহণ করেছেন। একই দিনে জাতিসংঘ আয়োজিত অসংক্রামক ব্যাধি সংক্রান্ত শীর্ষপর্যায়ের সভায় অংশগ্রহণ করি। এসভায় আমি ক্যান্সার, ডায়াবেটিকস, হৃদরোগ ও অটিজমসহ বিভিন্ন অসংক্রামক ব্যাধিকে বাংলাদেশ ও বিশ্বের জন্য উন্নয়ন চ্যালেঞ্জ হিসেবে অভিহিত করে এসব ব্যাধি নিয়ন্ত্রণে সাশ্রয়ী মূল্যে ওষুধের জোগান ও প্রযুক্তির সহজ হসতান্তরেরও আহ্বান জানাই। ১৯ সেপ্টেম্বর সন্ধ্যায় আইসিটি এওয়ার্ড নাইট অনুষ্ঠানে যোগ দেই। তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি ব্যবহারের মাধ্যমে নারী ও শিশু স্বাস্থ্যসেবার উন্নয়নে অবদানের জন্য আমাকে আন্তর্জাতিক 'সাউথ সাউথ' পুরস্কার দেয়া হয়। আমি মনে করি, এই পুরস্কার ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ নির্মাণে বাংলাদেশের জনগণ ও সরকারের কঠোর পরিশ্রমের আনত্মর্জাতিক স্বীকৃতি। আমি এ পুরস্কার দেশের জনগণকে উৎসর্গ করলাম।
তিনি বলেন, ২০ সেপ্টেম্বর সকালে Clinton Global Initiative এবং সদ্য সমাপ্ত ঈঙচ-১৬ এর আয়োজনকারী দেশ মেক্সিকো এবং COP-17 -১৭ এর আয়োজনকারী দেশ দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার রাষ্ট্রপ্রধানগণ কর্তৃক আয়োজিত জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন শীর্ষক বিশ্বনেতাদের সংলাপে দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার একমাত্র সরকারপ্রধান হিসাবে দেওয়া ভাষণে আমি জলবায়ু পরিবর্তনের হুমকি পৃথিবীকে রক্ষা করতে সবার প্রতি আহ্বান জানিয়েছি। এসময় আমি জলবায়ু পরিবর্তনের ফলে বাংলাদেশের চ্যালেঞ্জ সমূহ তুলে ধরি এবং সাম্যতা এবং আনত্মর্জাতিক দায়বদ্ধতার ভিত্তিতে এর আশু সমাধানে আনত্মর্জাতিক গোষ্ঠীকে আহ্বান জানাই।
সেদিন দুপুরে ইউএস চেম্বার ও এশিয়া সোসাইটি আয়োজিত মধ্যাহ্ন ভোজসভায় আমি যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে বাংলাদেশি পণ্যের জন্য শুল্কমুক্ত সুবিধা দেয়ার আহবান জানাই। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে বাংলাদেশি পণ্যের শুল্কমুক্ত প্রবেশ মঞ্জুর করতে ইতিবাচক ভূমিকা পালনের জন্য বন্ধুপ্রতিম মার্কিন কংগ্রেস সদস্যদের সহযোগিতা চেয়েছি। বাংলাদেশে আরো বিনিয়োগ করতে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ব্যবসায়ীদের প্রতি আহ্বান জানাই।
২০ সেপ্টেম্বর জাতিসংঘ অ্যাসেম্বলি হলে জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি মুন আয়োজিত "প্রত্যেক নারী ও প্রত্যেক শিশু" শীর্ষক অনুষ্ঠানে বক্তৃতা দেই। নারী ও শিশুর জীবনযাত্রার মানোন্নয়নে সম্মিলিত অঙ্গীকার জোরদার করতে বিশ্ব নেতৃবৃন্দের প্রতি আহ্বান জানাই। আমি বিশ্বাস করি, নারী ও শিশুর কল্যাণের ওপর নির্ভর করছে আমাদের ভবিষ্যত। বাংলাদেশ ১৯৯০ সালের তুলনায় শিশু মৃত্যুর হার (আইএমআর) ৬৬ শতাংশে হ্রাস করেছে। এক্ষেত্রে এমডিজি-৪-এর আইএমআর অর্জনের দিকে আমরা এগিয়ে যাচ্ছি। অন্যদিকে, বাংলাদেশ ১৯৯০ সালের তুলনায় মাতৃমৃত্যুর হার (এমএমআর) ৪৫ শতাংশে হ্রাস করেছে এবং বর্তমানে আমরা এমডিজি-৫-এর এমএমআর অর্জনের পথে রয়েছি। ৬টি প্রতিরোধযোগ্য ব্যাধি নির্মূলে সমপ্রসারিত টিকাদান কর্মসূচির মাধ্যমে বাংলাদেশ পাঁচ বছরের কম বয়সের শিশুমৃত্যু হার হ্রাসে সাফল্য অর্জন করেছে। আমরা ই-হেলথ সার্ভিসের মাধ্যমে ডায়রিয়া প্রতিরোধেও সাফল্য অর্জন করেছি। অনুষ্ঠানে জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব মা ও শিশু স্বাস্থ্য সুরক্ষায় আমাদের সরকারের সাফল্যের প্রশংসা করেন।
তিনি বলেন, ২১ সেপ্টেম্বর আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের অধিবেশন শুরু হয়। সেদিন সকালে কাতারের আমীর শেখ হামাদ বিন খলিফা আল-থানির সঙ্গে বৈঠকে আমি বাংলাদেশে কাতারের বিনিয়োগ বৃদ্ধি ও এদেশ থেকে আরও জনশক্তি নিতে কাতার সরকারের প্রতি আহ্বান জানিয়েছি। এদিন মার্কিন প্রেসিডেন্ট বারাক ওবামার সাথেও আমার দুদফা কুশল বিনিময় হয়। দুপুরে জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি মুনের দেয়া মধ্যাহ্ন ভোজসভায় প্রেসিডেন্ট ওবামার সাথে আমার সাক্ষাত হয়। সন্ধ্যায় ফার্ষ্ট লেডি মিশেল ওবামার দেয়া সংবর্ধনা অনুষ্ঠানে ওবামাসহ অন্যান্য বিশ্বনেতৃবৃন্দের সাথে আবার কুশল বিনিময় হয়। এসময় প্রেসিডেন্ট ওবামা নারীর ক্ষমতায়ন ও জঙ্গিবাদ দমনে আমাদের সরকারের ভূমিকার প্রশংসা করেন। বাংলাদেশ সফরে তিনি তার আগ্রহ প্রকাশ করেন।
তিনি বলেন, ২২ সেপ্টেম্বর Economic empowerment of rural women and food and nutrational security অর্থাৎ 'গ্রামীণ নারীদের অর্থনৈতিক ক্ষমতায়ন এবং খাদ্য ও পুষ্টিগত নিরাপত্তা' শীর্ষক এক সেমিনারে মূল প্রবন্ধ উপস্থাপন করি। এই সেমিনারের মূল উদ্যোক্তা ছিল বিশ্ব খাদ্যসংস্থা, ইউনাইটেড ন্যাশন্স উইমেন ও নেদারল্যান্ডস সরকার। সেমিনারে গ্রামীণ নারীর ক্ষমতায়নে বিভিন্ন সফলতার জন্য বাংলাদেশ সবার প্রশংসা অর্জন করে। আমার প্রবন্ধে আমি উল্লেখ করি যে, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধানে রাষ্ট্র ও সমাজের সব স-রে নারীর সমান অধিকার নিশ্চিত করা হয়েছে। সরকারি নীতি-কৌশল নারীর ক্ষমতায়নকে সব উন্নয়ন এজেন্ডার কেন্দ্রে স্থাপন করেছে। আমরা বিশ্বাস করি দারিদ্র্য ও ক্ষুধা হ্রাস করা জেন্ডার সমতা, নারীর ক্ষমতায়ন ও উন্নত মাতৃস্বাসে'্যর লক্ষ্য অর্জনের সঙ্গে অঙ্গাঙ্গিভাবে জড়িত। এদিন জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের ৬৬তম অধিবেশনের সভাপতি নাসির আব্দুল আজিজ আল নাসেরের সাথে আমার বৈঠক হয়।
২৩ সেপ্টেম্বর বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশের নেতাদের সাথে আমার দ্বিপাক্ষিক বৈঠক অনুষ্ঠিত হয়।
এদের মধ্যে রয়েছেন জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি মুন, সৌদী পররাষ্ট্রমন্ত্রী প্রিন্স সউদ আল ফয়সল, কমনওয়েলথ মহাসচিব কমলেশ শর্মা, জাতিসংঘের নবীনতম সদস্য দক্ষিণ সুদানের প্রেসিডেন্ট সালভা কির মায়ারডিপ, তুরস্কের প্রধানমন্ত্রী রেসেপ তায়েপ এরদুগান এবং মালদ্বীপের ভাইস-প্রেসিডেন্ট ডঃ মোহাম্মদ ওয়াহেদ।
জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি মুনের সাথে বৈঠকের সময়ে তিনি এমডিজি অর্জনে আমাদের সরকারের অগ্রযাত্রার প্রশংসা করেছেন। আমি তাকে বাংলাদেশ সফরের আমন্ত্রণ জানালে তিনি তা গ্রহণ করেন।
২৪ সেপ্টেম্বর জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের অধিবেশনে আমি বাংলাদেশের কান্ট্রি ষ্টেটমেন্ট প্রদান করি। আমি আমার বক্তব্যে বলেছি, শান্তিই হচ্ছে উন্নয়নের সোপান। আর শানিত্ম তখনই বিরাজ করে, যখন ন্যায়বিচার নিশ্চিত হয়। জাতির পিতা বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান ''সকলের সঙ্গে বন্ধুত্ব, কারও প্রতি বৈরিতা নয়'' এবং ''সকল বিরোধের শানিত্মপূর্ণ সমাধান'' নীতি গ্রহণ করেছিলেন। সাঁইত্রিশ বছর আগে জাতিসংঘের মঞ্চ থেকেই তিনি একথা উচ্চারণ করেছিলেন।
সেই ধারাবাহিকতায় শানিত্মর জন্য ন্যায়বিচার প্রতিষ্ঠা আমাদের সরকারের অভ্যনত্মরীণ এবং বৈদেশিক নীতির অন্যতম সত্মম্ভ হিসেবে প্রতিষ্ঠা পেয়েছে।
আমার সরকারের শান্তিপূর্ণ মধ্যস'তার মাধ্যমে পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম শানিত্মচুক্তি, ভারতের সাথে গঙ্গা পানি চুক্তি, বিডিআর বিদ্রোহ নিরসন এবং সমপ্রতি বাংলাদেশ-ভারতের দীর্ঘ ৪০ বছরের সীমানত্ম বিরোধের অবসান ইত্যাদি উদাহরণ তুলে ধরি।
জাতিসংঘের ৬৬ তম অধিবেশনমঞ্চে দাঁড়িয়ে আমি সারাবিশ্বের জন্য একটি শান্তির মডেল উপস্থাপন করেছি যার মূল প্রতিপাদ্য হচ্ছে জনগণের ক্ষমতায়ন। এটি একটি বহুমাত্রিক ধারণা যেখানে গণতন্ত্র এবং উন্নয়নকে সর্বাগ্রে স্থান দেওয়া হয়েছে। এতে আছে ছয়টি পরস্পর ক্রিয়াশীল বিষয় যা শান্তি প্রতিষ্ঠায় সহায়ক ভূমিকা পালন করবে।
এগুলো হচ্ছে (১) ক্ষুধা এবং দারিদ্র্য দূরীকরণ (২) বৈষম্য দূরীকরণ, (৩) বঞ্চনার লাঘব, (৪) ঝড়েপড়া মানুষদের সমাজের মূলধারায় অনত্মর্ভুক্তি, (৫) মানবসম্পদ উন্নয়ন ত্বরান্বিত করা এবং (৬) সন্ত্রাসবাদের মূলোৎপাটন।
আমি এর নাম দিয়েছি ''জনগণের ক্ষমতায়ন ও শান্তির মডেল''। এর মূল বিষয় হচ্ছে সকল মানুষকে সমান চোখে দেখা এবং মানবিক সামর্থ্য উন্নয়নের কাজে লাগানো। আমার দীর্ঘ রাজনৈতিক জীবনের অভিজ্ঞতার আলোকে আমি জেনেছি যে, জনগণের ক্ষমতায়ন ছাড়া শান্তি ও উন্নয়ন অসম্ভব। বিশ্বনেতাদের প্রতি এই শান্তিরর মডেলটি প্রয়োগ করার আহবান জানিয়েছি।
২০০০ সালে প্রধানমন্ত্রী থাকাকালীন বাংলাদেশের পক্ষ থেকে"A culture of peace" নামে Annual Flagship Resolution উপস্থাপন করেছিলাম। এবার আমার শানিত্মমডেলের আলোকে বাংলাদেশ জনগণের ক্ষমতায়ন শীর্ষক একটি নতুন রেজুলুশন ৬৬ তম অধিবেশনে পেশ করেছে।
এ প্রসঙ্গে আপনাদের মনে করিয়ে দিতে চাই, ২০০০ সালে জাতিসংঘের মিলিনিয়াম ডেভেলপমেন্ট সামিটে নিরাপত্তা পরিষদের অস্থায়ী সদস্য বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী হিসাবে আমি নির্বাচিত সরকারকে অবৈধভাবে উৎখাতের অগণতান্ত্রিক ধারার বিরুদ্ধে ব্যবস্থা নেয়ার মাধ্যমে বিশ্বব্যাপী গণতন্ত্রকে সমুন্নত রাখার আহবান জানিয়েছিলাম।
আনত্মঃরাষ্ট্র জাতিগত সংঘাত নিরসন, সন্ত্রাসবাদ দমন, আনত্মঃসীমানা অপরাধ দমন, জলবায়ু পরিবর্তনজনিত সমস্যা মোকাবিলা, দারিদ্র্য বিমোচন, পানি ও জ্বালানি নিরাপত্তা তৈরি এবং ধনী ও গরীবের মধ্যে ক্রমবর্ধমান বৈষম্য বিলোপে জাতিসংঘকে আরো কার্যকর করার কথা বলেছি।
আপনারা জানেন, জাতিসংঘ শানিত্মরক্ষী বাহিনীতে ছত্রিশটি দেশের বায়ান্নটি মিশনে বাংলাদেশ এ পর্যন্ত এক লাখ বাইশ হাজার চুরানব্বই জন শানিত্মরক্ষী প্রেরণ করেছে। এসব মিশনে দায়িত্ব পালন করতে গিয়ে বাংলাদেশের ১০৩ জন শানিত্মরক্ষী শহীদ হয়েছেন।
বিশ্বের প্রায় তিনশো মিলিয়ন মানুষ বাংলা ভাষায় কথা বলে। আমি বাংলাভাষাকে জাতিসংঘের দাপ্তরিক ভাষার মর্যাদা দিতে আমাদের আবেদনের প্রতি সকলের সমর্থন কামনা করছি। এছাড়াও আমার বক্তৃতায় আমি ক্ষুধা, দারিদ্র ও অশিক্ষার বিরুদ্ধে বাংলাদেশের জনগণের সাহসী সংগ্রাম ও সাফল্যের কথা তুলে ধরেছি।
বিশেষ করে, স্বাস্থ্য ও শিক্ষা খাতে আমাদের গৃহীত পদক্ষেপ, জ্বালানি নিরাপত্তা ও জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন জনিত সমস্যা মোকাবেলায় আমাদের উদ্যোগ ও নারীর আর্থ-রাজনৈতিক ক্ষমতায়নে আমাদের সাফল্য সবার প্রশংসা অর্জন করেছে।
আমি বলেছি, ন্যায়বিচার নিশ্চিত করা ছাড়া শান্তি প্রতিষ্ঠা সম্ভব নয়। এজন্যই ১৯৭১ সালে আমাদের মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধে সংঘটিত যুদ্ধাপরাধ ও মানবতার বিরুদ্ধে অপরাধের বিচারের জন্য একটি স্বাধীন আনত্মর্জাতিক যুদ্ধাপরাধ ট্রাইব্যুনাল গঠন করেছি। যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের শাস্তি নিশ্চিত করার মাধ্যমে আমাদের গণতন্ত্র আরও শক্তিশালী হবে।
আন্তর্জাতিক অপরাধ আদালতের রোম সনদের অনুস্বাক্ষরকারী দেশ হিসেবে আমরা অপরাধীকে বিচারের আওতায় আনার ব্যাপারে অঙ্গীকারাবদ্ধ। অতীত ভুলের সংশোধনের এটিই একমাত্র পথ। এর মাধ্যমে জাতীয় ঐক্য সুসংহত হবে।
আমি এবং আমার পরিবার বারবার সন্ত্রাসের শিকার হয়েছি। ১৯৭৫ এর ১৫ আগষ্ট এবং ২০০৪ সালের ২১ আগষ্টের ভয়াবহতা থেকে আমি জানি, সন্ত্রাস কিভাবে গণতন্ত্র ও উন্নয়নকে ধবংস করে দেয়। তাই সন্ত্রাস নির্মুলে আমি আমার অঙ্গীকার পুনর্ব্যক্ত করেছি।
এবারের নিউইয়র্ক সফরকালে বিভিন্ন আনত্মর্জাতিক মিডিয়া যেমন, ওয়াল স্ট্রিট জার্নাল, নিউইয়র্ক টাইমস, ওয়াশিংটন পোস্ট এবং ভয়েস অব আমেরিকা পৃথকভাবে আমার সাক্ষাৎকার নেয়। এসব সাক্ষাৎকারে আমি সমসাময়িক পরিসি'তি বিশেষ করে নারীর ক্ষমতায়ন, আঞ্চলিক ও আন-র্জাতিক সন্ত্রাসবাদ, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার, ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ, দারিদ্র্য বিমোচন, অর্থনৈতিক প্রবৃদ্ধি, জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন এবং গণতান্ত্রিক পরিবেশ প্রসঙ্গে আমার দৃষ্টিভঙ্গী তুলে ধরেছি।
২৪ সেপ্টেম্বর বিকালে আমি নিউইয়র্কে এক সংবাদ সম্মেলনে দেশ ও জাতির কল্যাণে আমাদের সরকারের দৃষ্টিভঙ্গী তুলে ধরি। ২৫ সেপ্টেম্বর যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের বাংলাদেশ ককাসের কো-চেয়ার জোসেফ ক্রাউলি আমার সাথে সাক্ষাত করেন। বিকালে প্রবাসীদের দেয়া সংবর্ধনা অনুষ্ঠানে যোগ দেই। এসময়ে আমি তাদের প্রতি বিদেশে দেশের ভাবমূর্তি উজ্জ্বল করতে তাদেরকে শুভেচ্ছা দূত হিসেবে কাজ করার আহ্বান জানাই। দেশের অর্থনীতিতে প্রবাসী বাংলাদেশীদের অবদানের কথা স্মরণ করে বাংলাদেশে তাদেরকে আরো বেশি করে বিনিয়োগ বৃদ্ধির আহবান জানিয়েছি। প্রবাসীদের বিপুল উচ্ছাস ও আনন্দের মধ্যে যুক্তরাষ্ট্র, নিউইয়র্ক ও ওয়াশিংটন ডিসি আওয়ামী লীগের নতুন কমিটি ঘোষণা করি।
তিনি আরও বলেন, জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের এই অধিবেশনে যোগ দিয়ে এবং কয়েকটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ সেমিনার ও সিম্পোজিয়ামে অংশ নেয়ার মাধ্যমে আমি চেষ্টা করেছি বিশ্বের কাছে বাংলাদেশের উদার, শান্তিকামী ও গণতান্ত্রিক ভাবমূর্তিকে উর্ধ্বে তুলে ধরতে। ক্ষুধা, দারিদ্র, অশিক্ষা ও সন্ত্রাসবাদের বিরুদ্ধে বিশ্বব্যাপী চলমান সংগ্রামে আমরা বাংলাদেশকে বিশ্বের কাছে রোলমডেল হিসাবে তুলে ধরতে চাই। এই সফরে আমি আনত্মরিকভাবে সেই চেষ্টাই করেছি। বিশ্বের কাছে তুলে ধরেছি শান্তির মডেল যার মাধ্যমে অর্জিত হবে আর্ত-মানবতার মুক্তি।

দুপুর সোয়া ১২টার দিকে শুরু হওয়া সংবাদ সম্মেলনটি চলে বেলা দুইটা পর্যন্ত। সংবাদ সম্মেলনে সাজেদা চৌধুরী, মতিয়া চৌধুরী, সৈয়দ আশরাফুল ইসলাম প্রমুখ উপস্থিত ছিলেন।

শুদ্ধি অভিযান ॥ আওয়ামী লীগে

চলতি মাসের শেষ সপ্তাহ থেকে শুরু হতে যাচ্ছে

বিশেষ প্রতিনিধি ॥ দলে শুদ্ধি অভিযান চালানোর উদ্যোগ নিয়েছে ৰমতাসীন দল আওয়ামী লীগ। ৰমতায় আসার প্রায় পৌনে তিন বছরের মাথায় দলটি শুরু করতে যাচ্ছে তৃণমূলে সাংগঠনিক কার্যক্রম। চলতি মাসের শেষ সপ্তাহ থেকেই তৃণমূলে ওয়ার্ড পর্যায়ের সম্মেলনের মাধ্যমে শুরু হচ্ছে এই শুদ্ধি অভিযান। পর্যায়ক্রমে ওয়ার্ড থেকে জেলা পর্যায় পর্যন্ত ধারাবাহিক সম্মেলনের মাধ্যমে ঝিমিয়ে পড়া সাংগঠনিক শক্তিকে চাঙ্গা ও শক্তিশালী করার পাশাপাশি নবীন-প্রবীণের সমন্বয়ে প্রান্ত থেকে কেন্দ্র পর্যন্ত দলকে নতুন করে ঢেলে সাজানোর নতুন পরিকল্পনা নিয়ে মাঠে নামছে শাসক দলটির কেন্দ্রীয় নেতৃত্ব।

তৃণমূল পর্যায়ের সাংগঠনিক কার্যক্রম শুরু করার আনুষ্ঠানিক সিদ্ধান্ত নিতে আগামীকাল শুক্রবার বিকেলে গণভবনে আওয়ামী লীগের কেন্দ্রীয় কার্যনির্বাহী সংসদ এবং উপদেষ্টা পরিষদের যৌথসভা আহ্বান করা হয়েছে। এতে সভাপতিত্ব করবেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা। এই যৌথ বৈঠকেই এসব সিদ্ধান্ত গ্রহণের পাশাপাশি মহাজোটকে আরও সক্রিয় ও বেগবান করতে শেখ হাসিনা দলের জ্যেষ্ঠ নেতাদের বিশেষ দায়িত্ব অর্পণ করতে পারেন বলে দলের সূত্রগুলো জানিয়েছে।

আগামী ১৭ সেপ্টেম্বর জাতিসংঘের সাধারণ অধিবেশনে যোগ দিতে নিউইয়র্কে যাচ্ছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা। তাঁর সরকারী সফরের আগের দিন এই যৌথসভা আহ্বান করা হয়েছে। দলীয় সূত্র জানায়, বৈঠকে সাংগঠনিক বিষয়ই আলোচনায় প্রাধান্য পাবে। বিশেষ করে যেসব জেলায় এক যুগ ধরে সম্মেলন হয় না সেসব জেলা কমিটি ভেঙ্গে দিয়ে আহ্বায়ক কমিটি গঠন করা হতে পারে। ওয়ার্ড পর্যায়ে সম্মেলনের পরিকল্পনা চূড়ান্ত করার পাশাপাশি ভেঙ্গে দেয়া জেলা কমিটিগুলো আগে সম্মেলনের মাধ্যমে পুনর্গঠনের চিন্তা-ভাবনা রয়েছে দলটির নীতিনির্ধারকদের।

জানা গেছে, সারাদেশে ঝিমিয়ে নেতাকর্মীদের চাঙ্গা এবং সংগঠনকে শক্তিশালী কীভাবে করা যায়, সে ব্যাপারে অভিজ্ঞ ও পোড়খাওয়া নেতাদের পরামর্শ নিতেই কেন্দ্রীয় কমিটির পাশাপাশি উপদেষ্টা পরিষদকে নিয়ে বৈঠক করার সিদ্ধানত্ম হয়েছে। রাজনৈতিকভাবে বিরোধী দলকে মোকাবেলার কৌশল, বিরোধী দলের অভিযোগের জবাব এবং সরকারের উন্নয়ন কার্যক্রম ব্যাপকভাবে দেশের জনগণের সামনে তুলে ধরার কৌশল নির্ধারণ হতে পারে আগামীকালের যৌথ বৈঠকে। দলের একাধিক সূত্র নিশ্চিত করেছে, চলতি মাসের শেষ সপ্তাহ থেকে শুরু হচ্ছে আওয়ামী লীগের তৃণমূল পর্যায়ের সাংগঠনিক কার্যক্রম। এ কার্যক্রমের মধ্যে প্রধান কর্মসূচী হলো ওয়ার্ড পর্যায়ের সম্মেলন। আওয়ামী লীগ ৰমতায় আসার পর তৃণমূল পর্যায়ে এটাই হবে বড় ধরনের তৎপরতা। এ ওয়ার্ড সম্মেলনের মাধ্যমে তৃণমূল পর্যায়ে দলের নেতাকমর্ীরা চাঙ্গা ও সংগঠন শক্তিশালী হয়ে উঠবে বলে আশা করছেন দলের কেন্দ্রীয় নেতৃত্ব। তাঁরা বলছেন, এর মাধ্যমে তৃণমূলে রাজনীতি সরগরম হয়ে উঠবে। পাশাপাশি সরকারের সফলতা ও বিরোধী দলের অপপ্রচারের বিষয়গুলোও তৃণমূল পর্যায়ে তুলে ধরা হবে।

এদিকে ওয়ার্ড পর্যায়ে সম্মেলন শুরম্ন করার জন্য এরই মধ্যে কেন্দ্র থেকে জেলা কমিটির কাছে নির্দেশ পাঠানো হয়েছে। সেই অনুযায়ী সম্মেলন শুরম্ন করার প্রস্তুতি চলছে জেলা পর্যায়ে। চলতি বছরের মধ্যেই ওয়ার্ড, ইউনিয়ন ও পৌরসভা, এরপর উপজেলা ও জেলা সম্মেলন করার টার্গেট নিয়েই নামছেন আওয়ামী লীগের কেন্দ্রীয় নেতারা। প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা ইতোমধ্যে দলের সাত বিভাগীয় সাংগঠনিক সম্পাদকদের ওয়ার্ড সম্মেলনের মাধ্যমে সংগঠনকে ঢেলে সাজানোর প্রস্তুতি গ্রহণের নির্দেশ দিয়েছেন।

জানা গেছে, আগামীকালের বৈঠকে প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনার নিউইয়র্ক সফরকালীন সময়ের জন্য সংসদ উপনেতা সৈয়দা সাজেদা চৌধুরীকে আওয়ামী লীগের ভারপ্রাপ্ত সভাপতির দায়িত্ব দেয়া হতে পারে। এছাড়া সংগঠন গোছানোর পাশাপাশি মহাজোটকেও অধিক সক্রিয় ও চাঙ্গা করে তুলতেও বিশেষ দায়িত্ব দেয়া হতে পারে সাজেদা চৌধুরীকে।

গত ৬ ফেব্রম্নয়ারি আদর্শিক জোট ১৪ দলের সর্বশেষ সভা অনুষ্ঠিত হয়। দীর্ঘদিন বৈঠক না হওয়া এবং প্রত্যাশা পূরণ না হওয়ায় মহাজোটের শরিকদের সঙ্গে আওয়ামী লীগের দূরত্ব অনেক বেড়েছে। দ্রম্নত শরিক দলগুলোর সঙ্গে বৈঠকের মাধ্যমে অভিমান ভাঙ্গিয়ে মহাজোটকে সক্রিয় ও শক্তিশালী করার জন্যও দায়িত্বপ্রাপ্ত দলের সিনিয়র নেতাদের নির্দেশ দিয়েছেন শেখ হাসিনা। আগামীকালের বৈঠকে মহাজোটকে সক্রিয় ও জোটের পরিধি সম্প্রসারণের প্রয়োজনীয় দিক-নির্দেশ দিতে পারেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা।

HUJI JMB JAMAT & BNP WANT TO KILL SHEIKH HASINA

2011-09-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

It was 5.23 pm on 21st august 2004 when Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina was wrapping up a rally protesting Sylhet blasts. A wave of grenade attacks on her left at least 16 people killed and left around 200 persons critically injured including top Awami League leaders Abdur Razzak, Amir Hossain Amu, Suranjit Sengupta, Ivy Rahman and Kazi Zafarullah.

The party secretary on Women affairs Ivy Rahman died in the Hospital later in the day. The unknown assailants fired seven bullets at the bulletproof SUV that Hasina boarded immediately after the blast.

The unusually poor deployment of police at the rally and the absence of forces on nearby building rooftops are a remarkable deviation from the usual practice.

Motaher Hossain, general secretary of AL Krishak League said some people on the roof of Ramna hotel and adjacent building were throwing bombs. At least 13 grenades exploded one after another, and also who were present on the spot told a white Microbus carried of some injured person who were among the assailant and were wounded by their own bomb.

Blame game started at the very moment Hasina spoke out loud about government’s conspiracy to kill the remaining member of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujiber Rahman’s remaining family members, BNP leaders hold back and Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan commented that they have blamed the government out of emotion. But soon BNP leaders changed their tone and started to blame AL for attacking their own rally, they argued AL had done it to destabilize the country and discredit the government only to grab the power.

Fiction and conspiracy theories were put forward by various columnists in the media. Pro Awami columnists blamed the fundamentalist forces and the right wing coalition government for this attack while pro BNP columnists blamed AL and pointed finger towards the country’s biggest neighbor India.

However most columnists inclined towards Awami league and left parties and leaders and activists of these parties discovered a pattern in the bomb blasts. In most cases secular forces and those who believe in culture, tradition and democratic values had been the target. The same group was behind the attack on Hasina’s rally.

Those pro BNP columnists pick up the same incident and argued Hasina was not the target of those assailants, if she were their target then why none of those grenades fall on the truck and also wrote thousand pages about AL’s possible motive behind this?

Some suspected it as a plot by international Muslim extremist groups; some pointed towards the association of ISI (Inter Services Intelligence); while Jamaat leader Matiur Rahman Nizami believes it is the work of “well known enemies of Islam” who masterminded, through various covert organizations, to carry out such brutal murders.

It became increasingly hard to dig out the truth from these fictions. With conspiracy theories you can use any piece of evidence to either prove or disprove your opinion and you can pick up any particular incident to strengthen your position. Truth has many faces but with conspiracy theory all you can achieve is a thousand shade of the truth and all these are equally probable and could be equally false.

In this present regime we have finally a charge sheet that clearly indicates Awami Leagues position is correct in this issue, RAB and other government intelligence agency finally concluded that Islamic militants are behind this attack and also a small fraction of BNP activists patronized this attack.

But is it the whole truth or only a facade? Lets look at the proceedings of the investigations.

To investigate 21st August 2004 bomb blast then BNP government first employed metropolitan police’s detective branch to investigate this incident, then this case was handed over to the criminal investigation department of Bangladesh Police. Five investigating officer under 3 officers in charge investigated this incident for over 4 years and they had submitted two charge sheet contradicting each other.

What is the progress in this case? When ever you ask this question to a law enforcement officer, a certain reply will be that “we are still investigating this matter. We had some lead but for the sake of this on going investigation we can not tell you anything.” Even after submitting charge sheet against 22 person in June 11, 2008 and acquitting all other person found guilty (on the first charge sheet presented by the CID), still the investigation has not been closed. So far we have 2 persons who claimed that they had actively participated in this failed assassination. On 26th June, 2005 Joj Miah from Noakhali confessed to police that for 5000 taka he carried out this attack under the order of Subrata Bain, a top terrorist. Subrata Bain and his group had close ties with some notorious AL leaders and they fled to India after alliance government took over the state in October 2001. He confessed to a magistrate that he had never seen any grenade before but Subrata Bain, Joy, Molla Masud ordered him to participate in this assassination. ASP of Police [CID] Abdur Rashid was the investigation officer then.

But the government were not satisfied with this finding so led by Munsi Atikur Rahman the investigation continued. The investigation found a paved path established by the coalition government.

So far we have two investigation reports, one of them was by Justice Jaynul Abedin, chairman of the one man investigation committee formed by the government to investigate 21st august grenade attack on Awami leagues rally. Awami League has rejected this report claiming it lacks neutrality. And another one was submitted by the Supreme Court Bar Association. According to Moudud Ahmed, who was Law minister at that time, claimed that this inquiry committee is illegal.

Jaynul Abedin’s investigation report:

Justice Jaynul Abedin had submitted his 162 pages manuscript of coalition governments collective story on 2nd October 2004. He was the member and chairman of one man inquiry committee formed by the government to investigate the grenade attack on Awami League rally on 21st august. On the eve of this submission those authorities in concern had invited journalist to give some insight of the report.

After scrutiny, critical and painstaking analysis, Jaynul Abedin did omit the possibility that coalition government and his ally, some extremist religious group and a part of Awami League was behind this heinous attack on Awami League activists.

But he did claim with certainty that a foreign intelligence agency actively participated in this event. They trained those assailants and equipped them with necessary ammunitions. He described this event on that informal press conference, “this incident is a naked attack on the independence and sovereignty of the country.”

Because Jaynul Abedin was a BNP activist in the past, Awami League questioned the neutrality of the investigation committee. Even though 123 people given their statement to this committee but that does not include Sheikh Hasina, who was the prime target of this massacre. Sheikh Hasina rejected the call for her statement.

In that one and half hour informal briefing on the report prior to its submission Jaynul concluded “the commission may not have received cooperation from all, which may have somewhat hindered the investigation, but the inquiry is in no way incomplete.”

Like any other investigation report submitted by any government formed investigation committee it also embraced the fate to remain unpublished till-to-date.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) inquiry committee report:

On 22nd august, 2004, immediately after the grenade attack, The Supreme Court Bar Association formed an inquiry committee. Barrister Kamal Hossain was elected as the chairman of that committee and the other members of this committee were Rokonuddin Mahmud, Abdul Malek, Amir-ul-Islam, M Zahir and Muhammad Ayenuddin.

While Hasina wrapped up the rally, at that very moment a grenade went off loud and it was followed by at least 10 such explosions. Awami League leaders formed a human shield to cover Hasina from the splinter, they were injured in this process and soon after they escorted Hasina to her bullet proof SUV and Hasina left for Sudha Sadan, while on the move that SUV was attacked by bullets. Witnesses on their statement confirmed the SCBA inquiry committee that they had not seen any member of the law enforcing agency in action there.

After inspecting the place of occurrence on 27th august 2004 they went to Sudha Sadan, where Hasina assured the committee her full cooperation to find out the truth. Hasina’s security personal and her driver gave their statement to this committee and this committee also inspected the SUV.

Driver on his statement told the committee that he drove towards the east, then took a left turn and then he drove towards Sudha Sadan through zero point. But police officers deployed at the rally on 21st August on their statement said to inquiry committee, SUV carrying Sheikh Hasina away from that place drove westward, took a right turn, and then went to Sudha Sadan through zero point.

On 16th, 17th, 18th September the committee watched the video tape recorded by ATN, Channel I and NTV. On ATN video tape they saw a young man purposefully looking towards the multi storied Dhaka City Bhaban. Apart from this, on Channel I and NTV footage some suspicious incidents were seen by the committee members.

The inquiry committee sent two letters to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, requesting her to extend cooperation for the inquiry and to direct the law enforcing agency to cooperate with them in interest of its work.

A letter was sent from the inquiry committee to IGP Shahudul Huq on 29 August 2004 requesting him to direct the police authorities to inform the inquiry committee of the number of persons who were deployed for maintaining the law and order in the public meeting on 21st August 2004 with the descriptions of their duties and locations.

After 3 weeks another letter was sent to him, requesting for his interview. The inquiry committee requested state minister of home affairs, but all of them turned down their request further more the law minister Moudud Ahmed on several occasion said that this inquiry committee had no legal basis and any report of any such illegal committee should not be recognized.

But the government did inform the SCBA inquiry committee that they had done every thing that is possible for them and sent a copy of the statement made by the State Minister for Home Affairs in the Parliament. In that speech the State Minister mentioned that the police made all out efforts to identify the culprits immediately after the incident and within 24 hours a Judicial Inquiry Commission was constituted with a judge of the Supreme Court as the sole Member. He also mentioned that the Government also arranged for an “international” inquiry into the 21st August incident side by side with Bangladesh police investigation and in response to the Government invitation 3 (three) teams from Interpol visited Bangladesh and helped the inquiry. Besides this, the government had also taken cooperation of FBI of USA.

The SCBA inquiry committee made repeated requests at the highest levels of the government for obtaining copies of reports of earlier bomb-blasts, the report of the ‘judicial inquiry’ into the 21 August, 2004 constituted by the Government, and other documents and information, but such requests have till-to-date were turned down.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) inquiry committee concluded it was a pre-planned attack, carried out on the basis of a carefully prepared plan, targeting Sheikh Hasina and other leaders and persons attending the rally. The firing of the bullets and grenades on the vehicle by which she was leaving the place of occurrence, confirms that she was the target.

The committee urged government to publish all reports of investigation within one month or else public may lead to believe attempt on Sheikh Hasina’s life was to some extent was patronized by this government.

The alleged HUJI rage against Awami League:

Some columnists claimed in the media that the AL government, after assuming power in 1996 barred Islamic scholars from issuing fatwa’s through a High Court order. The government also came on strong against the right wing protesters and arrested hundreds across the country. This had angered HUJI.

Mufti Abdul Hannan, the operative commander of the banned Harkatul Jihad-al-Islami revealed on 19th November 2006.

“I masterminded all grenade attacks across the country excepting the August 21, 2004 gruesome attack on the AL rally, and three people financed the outfit for carrying out the attacks”

Hannan gave another detailed statement on 1st November 2007:

“Kajol was given the responsibility to collect funds and grenades for the attack. They decided that 12 persons would carry out the attack and Kajol and Abu Jandal would select the commanders of the operation. It was decided that Kajol and Jandal brief the attackers about their positions and Jandal would throw the first grenade after getting instruction from Sayeed. The others would throw their grenades at around the same time. Hannan said the attackers targeted the truck and left the spot individually after the operation.”

However question remains as why HUJI chose to attack Hasina after all those years and during the period when there was a row of political killings of Awami League leaders (Kibria, Ahsan Master etc.) were happening. HUJI members were used but who masterminded the attack?

The BNP connection:

In January 2008, former deputy minister for information of the BNP government Abdus Salam Pintu was arrested for his involvement with the grenade attacks on Awami League rally on August 21 in 2004. He was arrested on the basis of confessional statement made earlier by detained Mufti Hannan who claimed that the attack on the AL rally was planned at the official residence of the former Deputy Minister. Hannan said that Pintu was present at the meeting and later supplied the grenades.

He made startling disclosure to interrogators about the involvement of former State Minister of Home Lutfuzzaman Babar and ‘Hawa Bhaban’ in the grenade attacks. From The New Nation:

“The CID officer said they were certain after the arrest of Mufti Hannan and Pintu that the attack on the AL rally had been aided and abetted by Lutfuzzaman Babar and the Hawa Bhaban.

“To hide the truth, former investigation officer Ruhul Amin, a CID officer, had gone to Pintu’s house several times,” he said, and added, “former State Minister of Home Babar was involved in the entire process and Pintu would regularly inquire with him about the progress.”

Pintu’s counsel Advocate Sanaullah Mia, however, told : “He was implicated only because his cousin Maulana Tajul Islam, a militant leader and an accused in the grenade attack case, had visited his house when Pintu was a Minister,”

HUJI is the culprit but who used them and why?

On June 11, 2008 charges were finally made against 22 persons including top Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu. Newspaper reports say:

“CID Chief Additional Inspector General Jabed Patwari said HUJI top leaders planned and carried out the attacks to kill Hasina as a few arrested attackers said in their confessional statements that Hasina would harm Islam if she was alive and came to power again.

BNP leader Pintu is not involved with Huji but he has been charged since the attackers had held two meetings at his residence to take decision about the attack.”

But the question remains whether HUJI tried to kill Hasina on their own or it was a political assassination plot linked by BNP to take out the opposition. Like every other political massacre the 21st August grenade attack on Hasina has no clear motive whatsoever and after 4 years of investigation we are not certain whether those who were behind this ghastly attack have finally been exposed. Will we be able to know the truth?

Rasel Pervez, prominent blogger in Bangla blog sphere who is famous for his political analysis. Mr, Rasel Pervez completed his MS on Physics from the US and awaiting PHD.

One Response to HUJI tried to kill Sheikh Hasina: Conspiracy Theory Or Truth?

1. Khondkar Abdus Saleque on November 20, 2008 at 6:45 pmWhy always Sheikh Hasina an progressive force like Kazi Aref,Udichi,Ramna Batomul,Progressive Journalists of Khulna( Humayun Kabir,an Others),Poet Shasur Rahman ,Dr Humayun Azad and others were target of terrorists?Why no one of so called nationalist or self styled Islamic force came under attacks of terrorists? What does this mean? These terrorists act as agents of identified beneficiaries to make the politics clean of progressive patriotic democratic forces to serve the interest of the so called nationalists.Bangla Bhai wanted to talk with Journalists before execution to tell the truth but was not allowed.If he could talk he woul definitely have exposed many involve in making him big.In Bangladesh politics of killings will never be over until all killings are fairly an openly tried.
The trial of 21 August grenade attack must be held properlyto punish the real criminals, sponsors and mastermind.Such organised crime can not happen in the heart of the capital city in the broa day light without knowledge and active support of the party in power.People say Ziaur Rahman ha moral support to August 15,1975 mid night massacare .No one shoul be surprised if Babar, Hawa Bhaban and intelligence agencies were actively behind August 21 carnage on Hasina meeting.History will reveal someday.

আওয়ামী লীগের সাফল্যে ওদের গা'জ্বালা করেঃ মোকতেল হোসেন মুক্তি

2011-07-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

আওয়ামী লীগের সাফল্যে ওদের গা'জ্বালা করে। যে কাজটি ওরা করার কথা ভাবতেও পারে না বা ভাবে না, সে কাজটি আওয়ামী লীগ সম্পন্ন করে সাফল্যের তুঙ্গে যাবে এটা ওরা কখনোই মানতে পারেনি বিগত বছরগুলোতেও। প্রশাসনের রন্দ্রে রন্দ্রে এই দেশদ্রোহীদের অবাধ বিচরণ । এরা প্রশাসনের প্রত্যেক শাখায় প্রশাখায় মজবুত শক্তিশালী সিন্ডিকেট। আওয়ামী লীগের নবাগত নেতৃত্ব দখল করে আছে এ রকম অনেক জামাত শিবির ও বি এন পি’র প্রাক্তন নেতাকর্মী। বৃহত্তর ফরিদপুর জেলায় এই নবাগত আওয়ামী লীগারের সংখ্যা সব চেয়ে বেশী। ছাত্রলীগ, যুব লীগ ও অন্যান্ন অঙ্গ সংগঠনগুলোর নেতানেত্রীদের সাথে বন্ধুত্বের সূত্রধরে অনেকেই নব্য আওয়ামী লীগার হিসেবে মন্ত্রী পরিষদের সদস্যদের সাথেও হৃদ্যতা ও আন্তরিকতা গড়ে তুলতে সক্ষম হয়েছে। এদের অনেকেই ২০০১ থেকে ২০০৭ পর্যন্ত জামাত বি এন পি’র এক্টিভ মেম্বার ছিলেন। এই স্বাধীনতা বিরোধীচক্রের গোপন চক্রান্ত আওয়ামী লীগ তথা জননেত্রী শেখ হাসিনার প্রতিটি সাফল্যকে ব্যর্থতায় পর্যবসিত করার অন্তরালে ক্যান্সারের মতো কাজ করছে, যা’ আওয়ামী লীগ এখন অনুভব করতে পারছে না বা উপলব্ধিতে নেবার প্রয়োজনবোধ করছে না।

“প্রথমবারের মতো 'পেপারলেস' অর্থাৎ কাগজহীন ফল প্রকাশের সুফল ভোগ করতে পারেনি ফলপ্রার্থীরা। এ বছরই প্রথম এইচএসসি পরীক্ষার ফল পেতে দীর্ঘ সময় অপেক্ষা করতে হলো শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোকে। গতকাল দেশের সব শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠানে এইচএসসির ফলাফল ই-মেইলের মাধ্যমে পাঠানো হলেও কোনো প্রতিষ্ঠানই সঠিক সময়ে ফল ডাউনলোড করতে পারেনি। রাজধানীর কয়েকটি শিক্ষাপ্রতিষ্ঠানের প্রধান জানান, ডিজিটাল পদ্ধতিতে ফল প্রকাশ হওয়ায় শিক্ষক, শিক্ষার্থী ও অভিভাবকদের যথেষ্ট বিড়ম্বনার শিকার হতে হয়েছে।“

“ডিজিটাল বাংলাদেশ” ভিশন ২০২১ এর অন্যতম একটি সাফল্যের অংশ হিসেবে সর্বপ্রথম শিক্ষার্থীদের পরীক্ষার ফলাফল ডিজিটাল পদ্ধতিতে জানানোর ব্যবস্থা করেছে আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার। যে সকল শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠানে ইন্টারনেট সুবিধা রয়েছে, সে সকল শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠানের প্রধান শিক্ষক অথবা অধ্যক্ষ স্বশরীরে হাজির না হয়ে ইমেইলের মাধ্যমে পিডিএফ, এম,এস,ওয়ার্ড অথবা এম,এস,এক্সেল ফাইল হিসেবে মুহূর্তেই নিখুঁত ফলাফল পেতে পারেন। বাংলাদেশের শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থায় এটি আওয়ামী লীগ সরকারের একটি ক্ষুদ্রতম হলেও জাতীয় উন্ন্যয়নের তালিকায় মাইলফলক হিসেবে লিপিবদ্ধ থাকবে।

আওয়ামী লীগের সব কাজ ও সিদ্ধান্তসমূহই স্বঠিক, এ কথা আমি কখনো অন্ধত্বেরবশে স্বীকার করি না কিন্তু বলতেই হবে এই সর্বাধুনিক ডিজিটাল পদ্ধতিটি আওয়ামী লীগের একটি বিশাল সাফল্য। যেখানে শিক্ষার্থীদের ঘন্টার পর ঘণ্টা লাইনে থেকে, হাজারো মানুষের ভীড়ে হুড়াহুড়ি ঠেলাঠেলির মতো সীমাহীন দুর্ভোগ পোহাতে হয় ফলাফল জানার জন্য। সেখানে নতুন প্রজন্মের শিক্ষার্থী ও অভিভাবকদের দুর্ভোগের হাত থেকে মুক্তি দেবার মহৎ উদ্দেশ্যকে চূড়ান্ত পর্যায়ে এসে বিফলতার গ্লানি হিসেবে আওয়ামী লীগের ভাবমূর্তি নতুন প্রজন্ম তথা দেশবাসীর কাছে ক্ষুন্ন ও হেয় প্রতিপন্ন করার পিছনে বোর্ড অফিসের সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্মকর্তা/কর্মচারীদের অবহেলা, স্বীয় কর্মে গাফিলতি অথবা উদ্দেশ্যপ্রণোতিদভাবে সরকারের ভাবমূর্তি নষ্ট করার প্রচেষ্টা কি না? সেটি ক্ষতিয়ে দেখার প্রয়োজন রয়েছে।

শিক্ষার্থী ও অভিভাবকদের এই ভোগান্তির জন্য দায়ী ব্যক্তিদের চিহ্নিত করা প্রয়োজনীয় ব্যবস্থা নেয়া অতি জরুরী। বিষয়টি অত্যন্ত স্পর্শকাতর এবং অতীব গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিধায় এতদ্ববিষয়ে শিক্ষা মন্ত্রণালয়ের সমন্বয়ে একটি উচ্চ ক্ষমতা সম্পন্ন তদন্ত কমিটি গঠণপূর্বক স্বঠিক তথ্য উদ্ঘটনের জোড় সুপারিশ থাকলো।